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'We saw what happened last year': Keith Andrews clarifies his own claim about Leeds under Bielsa
Keith Andrews has clarified his own claim that Leeds United ran out of steam last season under Marcelo Bielsa when their promotion bid derailed.
Leeds could – and should – have gone up last season as they spent most of the campaign in the top-two, had some of the best players and were playing the best football by far.
However, the Whites ended up finishing third in the Championship table and lost in the play-off semi-finals to Derby County, who were beaten in the final by Aston Villa.
But, this season sees Leeds sitting top of the pile with nine matches to play once second-tier football is able to resume.
Ex-West Brom midfielder Andrews believes that the break will benefit Leeds because what happened last season was a product of fatigue, both physically and mentally, something which he maintains is why the Whites failed to go up last term.
“No, I don’t think [anything will derail the top-two’s promotion bid],” Andrews told Sky Sports’ EFL podcast. “If anything, it would have done them good to have that little bit of a break.
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“We saw what happened last year with Leeds and traditionally, Marcelo Bielsa’s teams tend to run out of steam. That wasn’t the absolute reason last year, let me just clarify that, but I think when you look at the squad depth that he has, the regimental training they have, the lengths they go to and the mental fatigue that could have kicked in.
“I just think it’s given every team an opportunity to press the reset button.”
Andrews firmly believes that Leeds ran out of steam last season and has pointed towards that as being why United might have missed out on promotion this term.
However we have to totally disagree with that.
Before the coronavirus pandemic hit football, Leeds were on a five-match winning streak that put them top of the Championship and seven points clear of third-place. How were they running out of steam?
We are sure that Bielsa’s men would have gone up without this break.
In other Leeds United news, the EFL have been blasted by a leading Championship club.