Leeds United: Games still matter, reveals Heckingbottom as transfer window looms

Leeds United manager Paul Heckingbottom has revealed the forthcoming summer transfer window is "second" in his mind instead choosing to prioritise the remaining six Championship fixtures to assess his current squad.
Paul Heckingbottom and Victor Orta.Paul Heckingbottom and Victor Orta.
Paul Heckingbottom and Victor Orta.

The Whites have just two wins to their name this calendar year and after a lacklustre second half of the season have seen their play-off hopes disappear as they now sit 13th in the table.

With nothing much to play for during the remainder of the campaign a lot of the focus among the fan base in West Yorkshire has shifted towards the summer recruitment and potential areas that need strengthening.

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Heckingbottom though, speaking ahead of Saturday's clash with Sunderland, revealed that even with the window fast approaching his thoughts were primarily on his current crop of players at Thorp Arch.

Paul Heckingbottom and Victor Orta.Paul Heckingbottom and Victor Orta.
Paul Heckingbottom and Victor Orta.

"We're obviously speaking about all that for next season," the 40-year-old said.

"In terms of my focus, it is just on these games and these players at the moment because, I say it all along, but these next few games are going to have a big impact on the decisions we make in the summer.

"My focus is solely on our team and our games going forward. That's not to say there's not a great deal of work going on in the background. It's sort of second in my mind at the minute. Whilst we need to pay attention to it [the transfer window], we're trying to keep things rolling.

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"It's more important that we know exactly what we want and what we need going forward."

Paul Heckingbottom and Victor Orta.Paul Heckingbottom and Victor Orta.
Paul Heckingbottom and Victor Orta.

The former Barnsley boss, who arrived at Elland Road in early February, also added that he had already starting making decisions over which players in his side he may want to keep and those he doesn't heading into the summer and beyond.

"All the time you're making decisions," said Heckingbottom.

"Things can change between now and the end of the season based on performance. There's also things like what other people think of our players.

"We'll always have a plan for what we want as an ideal but then you obviously want to consider lots of different scenarios that might happen going forward.

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"They're the things that we'll have more discussion on once the window opens because nothing really changes until then."

Asked if he thought that the summer ahead may be a difficult one for the Whites, Heckingbottom simply replied: "I think they're always complicated."

"You've got to always try your best even if you're thinking that you're just going to sign one player, you have to make sure you get the best possible player.

"They're always complicated and they should be, you should be working just as hard regardless of the players needed and the ins and outs going on. That will be no different."