Garry Monk: This is the key in Leeds promotion hunt
By Matt Farr
Manager Garry Monk believes a strong work ethic is the key to Leeds’ chances of promotion this season.
Leeds are currently flying-high in the Championship, and head into Saturday’s clash with Barnsley in third place.
Since arriving at the club in the summer, Monk has transformed the Yorkshire club into genuine promotion candidates, and the former Swansea boss has promotion to the Premier League in his sights.
Leeds have not appeared in England’s top-flight since the 2003-04 campaign, when a financial crisis saw the club fall to its’ knees.
However, with Monk’s squad high on confidence and full of ambition, their many recent struggles appear to be a thing of past.
Monk’s side are currently unbeaten in six league games, and the 37-year-old insists that maintaining their hard work on and off the field will be the key to their success.
He told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “The key is preparation and to prepare the players, which we have been doing from the start of the season.
“What you see now is the work we have started to put in from day one in pre-season all the way through the rest of this season up to this point.
“We have tried to get on top of it and it is why I trust all my players. They are clear in what they have to deliver. The key is whether they can deliver the performance. At this moment, they are doing that.”
As many as 10 other managers have tried to improve Leeds’ fortunes within the last five years, but Monk appears to be the one that have may finally cracked it.
They look good both offensively and defensively, scoring 35 goals and conceding just 24. With 10 clean-sheets in the league already this term, they look certain to beat their haul of 13 from the 2013-14 campaign – their highest total since returning to the Championship.
In other Leeds news, club favourite Andy Ritchie believes the form of midfielder Ronaldo Vieira could present Leeds with a major problem.
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