Sheffield Wednesday manager Steve Bruce has praised his Leeds counterpart ahead of their Championship clash on Saturday.
Talking in the pre-match press conference, ahead of the Saturday tea-time clash, Bruce called Leeds a “good side” and also revealed that Barry Bannan and Dominic Iorfa were doubts for the game that they have to win to keep their faint hopes of a play-off place alive.
“We have to go there for ourselves to win this game, we have a chance, we have to go for it,” Bruce said. “It’s a small chance, yes, but we need the win to keep our season alive. Can we maintain that push? We can’t give up.”
Bruce went on to praise Bielsa saying, “Leeds are a good side, the manager has done a terrific job and we are all intrigued by his methods but he has been a breath of fresh air. He’s got Leeds to the top of the table.”
? SB: Leeds are a good side, the manager has done a terrific job and we are all intrigued by his methods but he has been a breath of fresh air. He’s got Leeds to the top end of the table #swfcLIVE
— Sheffield Wednesday (@swfc) April 12, 2019
OPINION
Bielsa’s methods haven’t gone down well with all the Championship managers this season. Frank Lampard wasn’t enamoured by him sending people down to spy on Derby training, an incident that escalated into the spygate scandal that ended up costing Leeds £200,000 in a punishment that seemed overly harsh. However, what he’s done with the Leeds squad has been nothing short of extraordinary. His players are close to the same as the ones who finished 13th in last season’s Championship and are now on the brink of a return to the top-flight. Both sides need to win tomorrow. Sheffield Wednesday are six points off the play-offs and have played one more game than Bristol City in sixth. A defeat for them would leave them mired in the Championship for another season. A defeat for Leeds could see them out of the automatic promotion spots and facing the very real possibility of having to go through the play-offs.