'Absolutely brutal': Challenge issued to Leeds United player in statement of intent with warning

Leicester and Ipswich are not in action until Monday night and, realistically, from a Leeds angle, you'd probably want Ipswich slipping up against the Foxes. Victory for Leeds against Sunday's visitors Preston North End would close the gap to Ipswich to four points but Southampton might be second by then as they play Swansea City on Saturday lunchtime.

There are so many different dynamics to the whole thing but Leeds have just got to keep on doing what they have done. We have spoken a little bit about that slow start. That's ancient history now. We looked at those couple of dodgy results over Christmas. Again, that's been and gone.

But Leeds seem to have righted that and they've also been able to bring someone like Patrick Bamford into the fold who has hit the ground running and that has been fantastic to see. As much as there is frustration with where the top two and third-placed Southampton are, there's got to be a broad appreciation of the kind of work that has been done off the back of that and going into these particular games. What Daniel has done with the side has been good to watch. It's been a set of results and performances that have been inherently positive.

Maybe it's a chapter for further down the road if we get to the play-offs or to around the end of the season where you kind of kick yourself a little bit for the start that you had. But all they can do is maintain what they are doing and I still don't think the top two is a foregone conclusion given the up and down nature of what the Championship is.

You can look at Leicester's position with regards to injuries and players away at AFCON and suspensions now with Abdul Fatawu being suspended. Ipswich had a great comeback result against Sunderland last weekend but they are still potentially looking at a striker situation. Kayden (Jackson) obviously came in and scored a good goal but they are going to miss (George) Hirst. No team is absolutely flat track smashing people to pieces.

But as much as Leeds are looking upwards, there are teams below them in excellent form such as Coventry City for example who will have eyes really firmly fixed on what potentially they could do between now and the end of the season.

Southampton are now unbeaten in 19 and they are phenomenal. I will be intrigued to see how Swansea and Southampton match up at the weekend. Russell Martin did a fantastic job with Swansea and I say this with the greatest respect but he has been given a group of players now at Southampton that are predominantly Premier League players and look what he's getting out of them. It's a fantastic return that he's got. You give them an inch like potentially Sheffield Wednesday did and they will smash you to pieces.

They are a thoroughly dominant side of possession, they've got a devastating way of finishing teams off and they were in second spot for a couple of hours last weekend before the Ipswich game. You have got to be wary of what Ipswich and Leicester have got but this very good Southampton squad that Russell Martin has got is absolutely purring at the moment.

Leeds were out of the top division for 16 years before finally coming back under Marcelo Bielsa and that goes to show that getting back in there will not be plain sailing at all. Leeds fans know that more than anyone. You have got very good teams performing very well. Just look at the points tally that teams are racking up.

I don't think it would be too much of an outlandish statement to say that Leeds will need to be close to perfect results wise to get into the top two now. That kind of averaging two points per game normally gets you in and around it. But it's a fascinating battle at the top with the quality of the squads.

It's strange because you look at these teams that appear to be head and shoulders above the rest but then you look at how tough they found the Premier League. That's a debate for another day with regards to the relative quality of the strength of both divisions.

Ipswich are the outlier but if you are a pundit of a certain kind of persuasion being asked the question then you would say that Leicester, Leeds and Southampton should be up there because of the fact that they are former Premier League teams with the financial clout to boot.

But it's easier said than done so what they are doing so far is fantastic. Given the outlier that is Ipswich and the form that West Brom are in, what looked like a foregone conclusion with the top two boxed off, I don't think is the case.

Looking at the Leeds team, Patrick Bamford has now scored three goals in his last three games for Leeds which is fantastic. We've spoken also about Junior Firpo and his impact on the team and what is needed from him and I would say don't change it with regards to the team selection to face Preston.

There's been no midweek game and there is plenty there to rest and recuperate and work through and an added extra day. I don't see any wholesale reasons to change it. Pascal Struijk might be back and there is also Sam Byram to add to the equation but it's a case of keeping a winning team together. It is worded in a different way now with resting players and kind of managing minutes but I still think there is that old adage of keeping a winning team together, especially given the team that we have seen and they are a fit team. Keep them together.

You have got a striker in good form in Patrick Bamford so keep him on the pitch. Pascal, of course, absolutely is one of the first choice central defenders. But all professional players know that they are not a shoe-in to play and if a team is keeping clean sheets and defending well, then to upset that balance would be needless I think.

That's not to say that you make sure the players that are in the team know that it's one mistake and they are out. Nothing to do with that. I just think it's very healthy competition that keeps the players on their toes.

Archie Gray signed a new long term contract this week and that's fantastic. On the one hand, it really does signal the intent of Leeds to keep their best players but it also financially protects them as well. If he is going to go somewhere else then it will presumably cost somebody top dollar which is absolutely right.

But I think his new deal is a more than deserved reward for what we've seen. There's plenty of talk about him as a player but of course he has that familiar name that could potentially hang heavy on the back of his shirt. He seems to have been able to rise above that and serenely kind of get on with his game. That's not to say that he hasn't found himself in challenging situations because you would as a 17-year-old.

He had a tough time against Liam Millar on Boxing Day and if the Leeds team is unchanged for the rematch on Sunday then Archie's challenge is to think ‘you got the better of me last time, you're not going to do it again this time.’

That's one of many challenges that will be coming in thick and fast over what you would presume to be a very successful career because of the grounding that he's got, the physical attributes that he's got, the level headedness of himself and his family.

And without sounding too twee and it it doesn't necessarily count for everything but he just seems like a nice kid and I emphasise the word kid because he's playing at a man's level which is absolutely brutal and even more so now as a young kid getting into a first team because there is absolutely nowhere to hide.

Everyone has got an opinion on the way that you play, everyone has got a preconception on what you might bring to the table and what your name suggests in a Leeds shirt. But full marks to him for getting on with it and for showing tenacity and composure.

There was a great little patch of play that I saw a clip of from the weekend which was him charging down the right, looking like he was in a dead end but then turning out, coming out, playing the ball, getting it back and chipping Dan James over the top and almost getting him in with a shot. It was just a really kind of mature piece of play, which I think is what you see.

He seems wise beyond his years. The next challenge now after such a good start, as it is with any young player, is get games under your belt and become an absolute fixture of that side, become one of the first names on the team sheet, become one of the ultra reliable cornerstones of a Leeds side that gets back to the Premier League. Full marks for what he has done so far, thoroughly deserved all round and just a really nice story.

If you are the manager of Leeds, or Archie Gray or a fan of Leeds or his parents or his grandad or his great uncle, all that type of stuff, it just brings a smile to your face because it's lovely to see.

As far as Sunday’s visitors Preston are concerned, there's been an up and down nature to what we have seen from them this season. But what we saw at Deepdale when they beat Leeds will be fresh in their minds. You could see that Leeds collectively had an off day but Preston were very good and they found a way to beat Leeds.

This is no minnow against a giant in this division. These are two teams that are highly competitive and can go at each other so I don't think for one second it'll be anywhere near straightforward. In short, Leeds owe them one and games like this need to be succinctly boxed off and won so that's what they have got to do. But having played with Ryan Lowe and knowing what it's like as a manager, he will relish playing against this side and getting one over on them again.