Leeds United skipper Liam Cooper laughs off Steve Morison's 'Zlatan' comments
Leeds United captain Liam Cooper has laughed off comments made my Millwall striker Steve Morison about turning into Zlatan Ibrahimovic when the two sides meet this weekend at The Den in the Championship.
Speaking in the build up to the fixture the Lions striker claimed he was going to "turn up, pull out my Zlatan Ibrahimovic kit, whack that on and take care of it" in reference to how Millwall were going to beat Marcelo Bielsa's side on Saturday afternoon.
Neil Harris' men have won just once in six league games so far this campaign and sit 16th in the table but enter the game in the knowledge that United haven't won on south London soil since Neil Warnock's team left the capital in 2012 with a 1-0 victory thanks to a second half Ross McCormack strike.
In mid-September last season unbeaten United made the trip to The Den in similar circumstances but left a wounded animal with Cooper admitting the defeat that Millwall inflicted left a mental scar on the squad.
Bielsa's side head to London sitting top of the pile and are preparing themselves for an equally difficult afternoon but one in which they are intending to pass with flying colours this time around.
Morison's comments though have been laughed off by Cooper who insisted that Leeds are only focused on themselves ahead of the much-anticipated fixture as the two old rivals prepare to do battle once again.
"He is important but all that tripe about Ibrahimovic and all that... if it makes him feel better then so be it," Cooper told his pre-match press conference.
"We know what we have got to do. We know our jobs and the standards we've set ourselves and if we reach those standards we'll leave ourselves in good stead to get a positive result."
The Whites skipper is set to be partnered in the centre of defence by Pontus Jansson following the news that Gaetano Berardi will miss the trip due to a knee injury picked up against Middlesbrough before the international break.