Leeds United: Stick with us urges United defender Berardi

The left-back attempted to calm negativity about Leeds’ spate of four defeats in five games by saying he was “sure that when we win we will go again” and calling for sustained unity as Christiansen’s players attempted to stabilise their stuttering Championship season.

Leeds suffered three straight losses either side of the international break and Berardi admitted he had sensed tension and frustration amongst the crowd at Elland Road as Reading claimed a late 1-0 win on Saturday.

United travel to fourth-placed Bristol City this weekend looking to end a run of three successive away defeats and consolidate their position in the Championship’s top six.

Christiansen’s team, who topped the table three weeks ago, have avoided dropping out of the play-off places despite their poor results but they are in the thick of what Berardi called a “hard month” with league matches against Sheffield United, Derby County and Brentford to come and a Carabao Cup tie at Leicester City awaiting Leeds next Tuesday.

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Berardi said: “We need to be ready and the most important thing is that we need to be positive because it’s a bad moment now. We have to try and win the next game and I’m sure that when we start to win, we’ll go again.

“We have to be prepared for the next month because it will be a hard month.”

United defender Pontus Jansson voiced frustration by criticising his own form on Monday night, branding his recent performances as “s***” on an Instagram post.

Jansson wrote: “Last few weeks has been tough, things hasn’t gone in the way that we all wanted and I personally have been s***.

“But we all want the same thing now, going back and win games, and the only way to go is hard work, 100 per cent. Stay together everyone and we will for sure come back.”

Berardi asked the club’s fans to show patience as Leeds tried to play their way out of a disappointing spell.

Elland Road saw another home sell-out on Saturday, with the attendance falling just short of 34,000, but Leeds struggled to break down Reading and were picked off by an 85th-minute goal from Mo Barrow.

Berardi told LUTV: “It’s nice to see the stadium full and we need to take some good results for (the fans) but I would like to say a message to them - we would like to hear them more positive because I could hear some bad things during the game.

“That’s normal and it’s football but everyone has to be positive. The players, the staff, everyone in the crowd.”