Eddie Gray believes that the Leeds United players can take confidence despite their 3-1 defeat to Leicester on Tuesday night.
The Whites were eliminated by the Premier League side in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup after suffering an away defeat.
Thomas Christiansen’s side took the lead at the King Power Staidum through Pablo Hernandez’s side and were the better team in the opening exchanges.
The Yorkshire giants saw plenty of possession in the early stages and proved they can compete against top-flight opposition, something they did when they knocked out Burnley in the previous round.
However, Leicester’s quality finally shone through as they progress to the quarter-finals with goals from Kelechi Iheanacho, Islam Slimani and substitute Riyad Mahrez
Gray credited Leeds’ performance against Leicester and feels that the manager will be pleased with their efforts.
“I thought we played well tonight [against Leicester] especially in the first-half,” Gray told LUTV.
“I think Thomas will be pleased with how the players performed.
“I think the players can take a lot of confidence from coming to another Premier League ground, like they did against Burnley, and giving a good amount of themselves.”
OPINION
A much-changed Leeds side can certainly be pleased with their display against Leicester and were certainly the better team for the opening 30 minutes. Christiansen is likely to make wholesale changes once again for the crunch Championship match against Sheffield United on Friday, but a number of players put in some solid display. Pablo Hernandez certainly reminded the manager of his quality due to his brilliant long-range strike and also his overall composure in possession. Meanwhile, players like Pontus Jansson and Felix Wiedwald may be left frustrated as they missed the opportunity to stake their place in the starting XI.