Leeds United employee hails ‘spectacular’ transformation after what he’s heard
Noel Whelan has insisted the brush with relegation from the Premier League will have brought the Leeds United squad even closer together.
The former Whites striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, hailed the Yorkshire club’s “togetherness and fight” amid “a lot of pressure inside and outside the ground”.
Leeds United survived the drop on the final day of the season (22 May) – beating Brentford 2-1 away from home to consign Burnley to the Championship.
Jesse Marsch won four of his 12 games in charge of the Whites after succeeding Marcelo Bielsa – despite key injuries to players like Patrick Bamford and Liam Cooper.
Speaking to Spanish outlet Sport (31 May) while away on international duty, Diego Llorente reflected on a “spectacular and “very demanding” season, and hailed his teammates for “never giving up”.
Whelan insisted “everyone stepped up to the plate” as injury and suspension stretched the squad thin in the season’s final games.
“I’m a big believer that when things are easy, you don’t learn too much about yourself or each other,” he told Football Insider‘s Russell Edge.
“When you’re going through a tough time, you find out who exactly wants to dig in, who you’d want to be next to in the trenches.
“You find that real togetherness and fight.
“Mentally and physically – you have to become tougher. There’s a lot of pressure on your shoulders, inside and outside the ground.
“You have to be a tough character to deal with the fans and that anxiousness that comes with that.
“These past few months have brought the squad together even more.
“They’ve really had to dig in with these young players – and everyone has stepped up to the plate.”
In other news, Leeds United tipped by pundit to sign another Red Bull star after two deals done.