Ally McCoist has delivered a warning to Leeds, saying it’s vital that they clinch second place in the Championship if they want to play Premier League football next season.
Leeds are currently in second with five games to go but Sheffield United are just one point behind in the race for the automatic promotion places.
Talking on the The Debate show on Sky Sports (April 10, starts: 33mins), McCoist was asked by the host: “Because of where they’ve been in the table, do you think it would be tougher for Leeds to go up via the play-offs?”
“Yes,” said McCoist. “Momentum is a massive, massive thing in any sport. We spoke about Villa and they are a team who clearly have momentum.
“If Leeds start going like that it will be very difficult to get back up there again. That’s why I think it’s so important for Leeds to clinch that automatic second spot because I think it will be extremely difficult for them to get up via the play-offs as other teams have momentum on them.”
The good news for Leeds is that McCoist thinks that Leeds will beat Sheffield United to the runner-up spot.
“It’s so intriguing at the top. I actually think Leeds will hang on,” McCoist added before predicting Aston Villa would go on to win the play-offs.
OPINION
Leeds fans would probably have taken the play-offs at the start of the season but now it’s all about getting up without the drama. They’re so close to a return to the top-flight with just five games left and they know if they win their remaining games they’re in the Premier League. It looks like going all the way to the final game of the season, though, with Sheffield United not in the mood to go easy. They drew against Birmingham on Wednesday but that’s a point better than Leeds who lost there last weekend. Both sides have three home games left and Leeds have perhaps the easier final game of the season, away at Ipswich, who will surely be relegated by that point. It would be hard for either side to lift themselves for the play-offs if they narrowly miss out on second but, saying that, we don’t think any side would fancy playing Leeds over two legs, or in the final at Wembley.