Sky Sports pundit Steve Howey has piled the pressure on Leeds United to make it out of the Championship “wilderness” this season, insisting that they will have to overcome the demands of the second tier if they are going to make it in the Premier League.
The Whites currently lead the hunt for the second division title ahead of Norwich City and West Brom – two sides who have tasted game time in the Premier League in recent years – and are looking like strong contenders under Marcelo Bielsa.
However, Howey states that being a big club means they are always under pressure and that they will have to brush that aside if they want to rejoin the elite of English football.
Speaking about Bielsa, he told Sky Sports News’ Football Centre (28/12): “He’s been fantastically impressive. He’s got vast experience with the jobs he’s had. He’s come in, it’s a big, big club. They are flying at the moment, he’s got them players mentally switched on. So they’ll be difficult to beat. You saw the stats, best all bar one.
“(Are Leeds under pressure?) Yes, but at the same time that’s what football’s all about. If you want to mix it with big boys, you’ve got to deal with the pressure. You play week in, week out, two games a week, it is all about pressure, if you’ve got the desire and quality, you’ll make it.
“It’s difficult, you do love playing in those sort of atmospheres. It’s a great stadium to play in, they’ve been in the wilderness for a little bit. It’s just about keeping it going.”
Opinion
Leeds fans will know exactly what Howey is talking about when he discusses the wilderness of the Championship, for they will believe they have been outside the top flight for too long for a club of their support and history. It is this expectation which will be piling the pressure on the squad at Elland Road and with Bielsa, a world renowned manager, it is almost as though everyone expects the Whites to be challenging at the top of the table. Thankfully for the Argentine and his men, they are the ones leading the charge and unless there is a drastic turn of events over the next couple of months they should be there or thereabouts at the end of the season. Do the Whites have the mental strength to keep their title challenge going? There have been no signs suggesting otherwise and Howey is absolutely right to herald the impact that the manager has had. It does not look like one bad result is going to see them spiral into a run of bad form, as has been the case previously, and so Leeds fans can be quietly confident of a shot at promotion in May.