Disappointed Albion boss Hughton has no complaints

Albion had to leave almost immediately after a disappointing afternoon to catch a flight and will have taken to the air knowing they could have been top and in touching distance of the Premier League during their fortnight off had they beaten the Whites.

Instead the Sky-televised loss kept them in second-place in the Championship, six points clear of Huddersfield in third, while the Terriers also have a game in hand.

“I’m disappointed,” boss Hughton said. “I thought Leeds were better in the first half, had more of the ball but we were quite happy.

“We knew the game would open up and it was a question of moments.

“They scored a goal from a quality ball in from a player in form.

“On chances it’s not a game we deserved to win but we were better in the second half than we were the first.”

United’s next match after the current international break is away to one of their play-off rivals Reading, on Saturday, April 1.

The Royals boosted their own top-six hopes with a 2-0 win at faltering Sheffield Wednesday on Friday night to the delight of boss Jaap Stam.

He said: “It’s been a fight and I’m very proud of my team. In these games it’s going to be very tight, especially away from home and we knew it was going to be very hard.”