Eddie Gray believes that Leeds United manager Thomas Christiansen will be telling his players they need to match teams like Sheffield United this season.
The Whites suffered a 2-1 defeat on Friday night to the Blades at Elland Road, who now sit top of the Championship table.
Leeds midfielder Kalvin Phillips scored yet another goal this season, but Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United earned three points with strikes from Billy Sharp and David Brooks.
Christiansen’s side are currently fifth in the league table, but have lost four of their last five games in the Championship.
They now host Derby on Tuesday in their next match and will be desperate for a win to get their promotion bid back on track.
Gray feels that Christiansen will have told his players they need to be matching the teams at the top of the league table this season, with an away defeat to top-six side Cardiff also under their belt this season.
“Thomas will be saying that it was always going to be a difficult game [against Sheffield United], but these are the type of sides we’ve got to match and you’ve got to start again against Derby now,” Gray told LUTV.
OPINION
Leeds desperately have a team at their disposal that can achieve promotion this season, but they need to take points off the teams around them. They have already lost to Sheffield United and Cardiff this season, but proved in the win over Bristol City that they can compete against the top teams in the division. Leeds’ home form at Elland Road is certainly going to be crucial and they need to lay down a marker against Derby in mid-week.