Paul Heckingbottom shares Leeds verdict, identifies key man
By Alex Stevens
Barnsley manager Paul Heckingbottom has hailed the Leeds revival and claimed they are a top quality team managed impressively by Garry Monk.
The Yorkshire rivals will be pitted at Oakwell in Saturday evening’s televised Championship clash as they both aim to keep their promotion bids on track.
Leeds are one of the form teams of the division and head to the other side of Yorkshire on the back of a run of 10 wins from 13 league encounters.
Garry Monk’s side are third in the Championship, 10 points ahead of Barnsley, who have 38 points and are seven points adrift of the play-off positions.
Like Monk, Heckingbottom has a reputation as one of English football’s brightest managerial talents and the 39-year-old has already steered Barnsley to promotion from League One.
He shared his verdict on his team’s county rivals on Thursday afternoon and identified their key man.
“They’re a good side in good form,” said Heckingbottom, as quoted by the official Barnsley Twitter account. “Garry Monk has had to make changes, he’s got a real team there and, credit to him, he’s the big reason they’re doing well.”
Monk is also in the early throes of his Elland Road tenure after being appointed last June but is already the longest serving of the seven managers to work under erratic co-owner Massimo Cellino.
The Leeds manager completely overhauled the squad last summer and is looking to bring in up to two more players before the transfer window cut-off on 31 January.
In other Leeds news, Monk has made a shock transfer revelation after meeting with new owner Andrea Radrizzani.
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