Leeds United captain Liam Cooper doubles down on relegation claim with strong verdict

Leeds United star Liam Cooper has pulled no punches in response to a question over the club's relegation from the Premier League last season. Club captain Cooper was a key member of the squad that endured a campaign to forget last season, going through three managers and returning to the Championship.

Since then, things have taken a more positive turn for the club, with 49ers Enterprises completing a full takeover, Daniel Farke arriving as the new boss, and Leeds have started the season very well, currently within seven points of the automatic promotion places and gaining ground.

Though, the memory of a difficult season of last can not be easily erased, and especially not while questions are still being asked. Cooper had to field one from Sky Sports recently, and he was firm with his answer. While he did not name names, Cooper called out teammates for not 'pulling their weight' during the bruising relegation battle, doubling down on his rant towards the end of the campaign.

He said: "I was angry or whatever you want to call it. I just had a feeling that people weren't pulling their weight as good as you should have been and you've seen the quotes. That killed me. It killed me. It really hurt me. We'd put a lot of hard work in to get where we were and felt a little bit let down in a way. I don't like to make excuses. We weren't good enough, individually or as a team. There just wasn't that bond there. It wasn't there and I felt like it needed to be said."

Cooper, now 32, has been with Leeds since 2014, racking up 250 league appearances so far. He has remained a key player for the Whites this season, making nine Championship appearances so far, keeping in mind he missed five games through a foot injury early in the season.