Christiansen reveals bold target for Leeds season, delivers verdict on opening clash v Bolton
By Harry Sykes
Thomas Christiansen can’t wait to launch his first Championship campaign with Leeds, ahead of their opening game with Bolton on Sunday.
The Leeds manager was talking at the press conference ahead of the opening weekend of the Championship, as featured on the official Leeds website.
Asked about pre-season, he said he was very happy with his team’s preparation and revealed that he has no injury concerns.
“I have a full squad”, he said, “and that is my headache,” he jokingly added.
“It [pre-season] has been good. We have had 10 good days in Austria. They cancelled the first game which wasn’t part of our plans, but with the three games we had there I was very happy with the team.
“More than the results though was the understanding, for them to know me and me to know the players and what I expect from them on the pitch.”
After narrowly missing out on promotion to the Premier League last season, Christiansen knows what is expected from him by the club, who have targeted a top-six spot as a minimum.
Christiansen is hoping to do even better though and hinted at an automatic promotion spot, while admitting the Championship is a very tough league to come out of.
“I believe if you’re ambitious you want to do better. This is the signal the club and me want to give the team. We have to do better than that.
“It’s probably the most competitive league in the world. We have 12-14 teams that can mix up in the top six. Anything is possible. This is also what makes this league special.
“I’m looking forward to it. Our target was to prepare the team for this game and I believe we’re in the best possible position to play the game on Sunday.
“It will be a very difficult game. We have to go there and try to take the three points. We know what to expect and what we have to deliver.”
Christiansen knows how important a fast start will be and will be hoping for the maximum three points to take back to Elland Road for Leeds’ first home league game of the season against Preston North End next Saturday.
They also host Port Vale in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night it what is set to be a busy and bruising campaign.
In other Leeds transfer news, a reliable journalist has given an update on a centre-back wanted by the Whites.
We’ve launched a << BREAKING NEWS FEED>> exclusively for your club. ‘Like Us’ on Facebook by clicking here if you want 24/7 updates on all Leeds breaking news.