Leeds United striker Kemar Roofe has revealed that the attitude around the city thanks to the club’s promotion hunt has left him over the moon.
The Whites are pushing to seal a return to the Premier League and are currently sitting second, four points behind table toppers Norwich City and three points ahead of third placed Sheffield United.
Having suffered a disappointing 13th placed finish last season, Roofe has revealed how things are totally different off the pitch now and loves the attention he gets from the general public when out and about, insisting that sealing promotion would be a dream not only for him but for the entire city.
He told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “Last season we got to the point where we weren’t fighting for anything and everyone just lost interest a bit around the city. But this season it has always been there and it is growing each week, especially when you step out the house.
“You are walking down the road and someone is waving at you and they want to stop you and talk to you and say how amazing it is. That’s refreshing because sometimes when you are playing you are in the bubble, tunnel vision. You are just focused on what’s going on and you don’t know what’s happening in the stands, what people are actually thinking about. So when you get stopped it is nice.
“(Sealing promotion) It’s what dreams are made of. Just walking my dogs in the evening, getting stopped, everyone is just loving it. It’s just a feeling and the vibes you get from people, it’s something special so hopefully we can just do it, not even just for us; for the whole city.”
Opinion
There are some clubs who are just sewn into the fabric of a community and Leeds United is one of those. It is not like London, Birmingham or Manchester where you have a number of clubs vying for fans and their attention. Yes, there are other teams in Yorkshire but like Newcastle, Leeds is a one-club city when it comes to league football. Some players might struggle to deal with the pressure of having fans come up to you every single day but not Roofe – he seems to relish it. Admittedly, it must be a lot easier to deal with when everything surrounding the club is so positive, and you can imagine it was not the same last season when the club were floundering in mid-table. Now it is up to the current group of players to make sure they give the supporters exactly what they want in the form of a Premier League return. Failure to do so would be bitterly disappointing and bring this positive atmosphere crumbling down around the city.