COMMENT By Richard Parks

Andrea Radrizzani has laid into the Leeds United players for letting the club down in an outspoken and brutal verdict of the shortcomings of the squad he has assembled.

Radrizzani told talkSPORT in an explosive interview on the Jim White Show on Tuesday morning that felt particularly angry with the  players who were handed lucrative new contracts last year after he took over as sole owner of the club in May.

“We have given them everything possible to just focus on the football,” said the Leeds owner. “As a club we support them in everything - we gave them long-term contracts, we supported them going to a mid-season camp in Spain.

“We did everything they wanted, but we didn’t get back their commitment, passion and the spirit."

Radrizzani did not name the players who were the subject of his ire, but there were nine players already at the club who were handed new agreements following his takeover, either before, during or after the summer.

Each of them penned three or four year extensions to keep them at Leeds until the summer of 2020 or 2021.

Leeds have slipped to 13th in the Championship table and a distant 11 points adrift of the play-off positions following the latest round of league fixtures on Tuesday night.

Here, Football Insider analyses the nine Leeds players who Radrizzani clearly feels are fighting to save their jobs.

Here is the first of the nine players fighting for his future:

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Ronaldo Vieira

The Elland Road academy product was the first of the senior squad to be handed a new deal by Radrizzani, with the official Leeds website announcing a four-year deal on 24 May of last year. Vieria has failed to live up to his spectacular breakthrough season in 2016-17, when he was widely hailed as a future Premier League star following his dynamic central midfield displays. The youngster has been troubled by knee problems this season and his performances have suffered.

Here is the second of the nine players fighting for his future:

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Gaetano Berardi

Versatile full-back Berardi was handed a three-year deal, which was trumpeted by the official Leeds website on 8 August last year. It raised eyebrows at the time, given that he turns 30 this coming August, although the Swiss has been a nailed-on starter for the majority of this campaign. Berardi is a warrior, whose commitment and selflessness is beyond question. But, by his own admission, he is not a top-notch operator and his limitations have been made plain in recent months.

Here is the third of the nine players fighting for his future:

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Liam Cooper

The centre-back was handed a new four-year contract, as announced by the official Leeds website on 10 August last year. It raised eyebrows at the time, as Cooper had played second fiddle to Pontus Jansson and 2016-17 loanee Kyle Bartley the previous season and his propensity for errors made him a ticking timebomb. Cooper has been Jansson's regular partner this season and has mixed very decent displays with some mediocre and horrible ones. Is he worthy of his regular starter status?

Here is the fourth of the nine players fighting for his future:

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Stuart Dallas

The Northern Ireland international was handed a new three-year contract that was announced by the official Leeds website on 30 August of last year. Dallas then struggled for match time under ex-manager Thomas Christiansen, but has been a regular starter under new boss Heckingbottom. It is little wonder he is in Radrizzani's firing line. His 26 matches this season have yielded two goals and two assists, pitiful numbers for an attacking midfielder.

Here is the fifth of the nine players fighting for his future:

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Eunan O'Kane

Handed a new four-year contract that was announced by the official Leeds website on 11 August last year, it has been a wretched campaign for the Republic of Ireland international. O'Kane began the season well but has subsequently struggled to do even the basics with a series of horrible performances that have left supporters tearing their hair out. Given his pedigree and status as a former Premier League player, the central midfielder has been one of the biggest disappointments of the season for Leeds.

Here is the sixth of the nine players fighting for his future:

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Kalvin Phillips

Leeds announced on 4 August of last year on their official website that the academy product had been handed a four-year contract. It was regarded as vindication of the academy product's progress after graduating through the ranks of his boyhood club. Phillips began the season on fire with a glut of goals from central midfield and has remained a regular starter throughout the campaign. But his performances have been rank average for some time and he is increasingly becoming under fire from supporters.

Here is the seventh of the nine players fighting for his future:

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Conor Shaughnessy

The Republic of Ireland Under-21 international was handed a new four-year contract that was announced on the official Leeds website six weeks into the new campaign, on 21 September of last year. This was a reflection of the free signing from Reading's progress under Christiansen, both at centre-back and in a midfield anchorman role. Shaughnessy had made generally smooth progress until he suffered an ankle injury at the end of January that could rule him out for the rest of the season.

Here is the eighth of the nine players fighting for his future:

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Luke Ayling

The raft of new contracts continued at Leeds well into the autumn, with Ayling handed a four-year deal on 19 October last year, as trumpeted by the club's official website. The right-back was rewarded for an excellent debut campaign following his arrival from Bristol City in the summer of 2016, but, like many others, he suffered sophomore syndrome before his season ended early in January when he suffered an ankle injury that required surgery.

Here is the ninth of the nine players fighting for his future:

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Pontus Jansson

As befitting his status, the Sweden international was handed the longest and most lucrative contract of the lot, a five-year deal that was announced by the official Leeds website on 25 October of last year. Jansson was named in the Championship team of the season at the end of his debut campaign but he has not been as commanding without Bartley alongside him this season. Jansson's passion and commitment are there for all to see, but it is a concern that his performances have dipped when he should be rising above the mediocrity around him.

In other Leeds United news,

it can be revealed that the club have launched a bid to sign a Premier League centre-forward in the form of his life

.