Gaetano Berardi challenges Leeds United to find a new gear ahead of Championship run-in

Berardi could be thrown back into Leeds’ Championship campaign with Pontus Jansson nursing a minor knee injury and the defender said he and United’s other players “need to ask ourselves what we can do to improve again” with the promotion battle on a knife-edge.

Jansson is making rapid progress from the injury he suffered in Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United, a result which knocked Leeds out of the division’s top two, but the Sweden international is a doubt for the visit of Millwall and might be forced to make way for Berardi.

Berardi has watched from the sidelines for most of this season as Leeds kept up their pursuit of automatic promotion. He hurt a knee in August before tearing a hamstring two months later and an appearance against Millwall a week tomorrow would be his first start since a 2-0 win over Ipswich Town on October 24.

His return to full fitness comes at a crucial stage, with Leeds’ campaign in the balance, and Berardi is looking for another step up in performance to take the club over the line.

“You can have a good spirit but if you don’t work in the week, you don’t arrive 100 per cent for the game,” Berardi said. “It’s a balance, a mix of everything, and that’s why we need to work harder and to know what we can do to improve again.

“Even in this last month we can improve. We need to ask ourselves ‘what can we do to improve again?’ and then do it.

“It’s been a long season and it’s not over yet. We started to show that we’re a really good team from the beginning and we’ve been top two for almost all the season but we don’t need to look at the table too much or look too far ahead. If you try to see if you’ll win, lose or draw, you lose too much energy.”

Berardi began the season in Bielsa’s starting line-up, paired with Liam Cooper at centre-back, but has started only eight league games due to his fitness problems.

Jansson, however, twisted a knee towards the end of Leeds’ loss to Sheffield United and have been undergoing treatment this week. Leeds do not expect him to miss more than one game and are yet to rule him out of the clash with Millwall on March 30.

Berardi made a substitute appearance in a recent 1-0 win at Bristol City and has featured with Leeds’ Under-23s in preparation for a proper recall by Bielsa.

“I’m training hard and I’m trying my best to be fit,” he said. “We still have 10 days to the next game so I need to show the staff that I’m ready to play. I don’t know what they will do but I need to show them I’m ready.”

Leeds made bids for promotion in both of the past two seasons, falling narrowly short of the play-offs under Garry Monk in 2017 and leading the table for a while under Thomas Christiansen last term.

Berardi insisted United were a different animal under Bielsa, saying: “We tried to believe in something big (previously) but it was different. Maybe you want to try but you’re not able to do it.

“I think this year we’re able to do what we want to do, which is why we can see good results.”