'I do worry' - Leeds United 200-game hero raises concerns despite backing Marcelo Bielsa

The former Whites striker is disappointed that the club didn't do more to 'refresh' the squad in the last two transfer windows, particularly given the fact that injuries have bitten in such a serious way this season.

"Last year they were sensational, which goes without saying," he said.

"This season they’ve been stop-start and I think they’ve been found out a little bit. Opposition [teams] have scrutinised the way they play, the characteristics of the team. I’m a little bit disappointed the development of the club hasn’t evolved because you can’t stand still, you always have to make changes, even if it’s minute changes. The squad needs to keep getting refreshed. You need options and the squad is currently too small, which is causing problems."

Deane, who played 201 times for his hometown club, says Leeds' reliance on the Under 23s to plug gaps in the first team is problematic and so too is the way they pour forward in attack.

"Everyone in Leeds loves Marcelo Bielsa, " he said.

"But from my point of view as a player, you know how much those games take it out of you, and if you haven’t got competition and you’ve got players going down with injuries, it’s difficult to rely on the youth players coming through. And having been a coach and a manager, when you do start relying on new players coming through, it does start to affect their mentality. If you’re putting a kid in the starting line-up before he’s ready in front of 40,000 or 50,000 fans, he’s going to be affected if he doesn’t perform well. The platform Leeds have is a good one, but I do worry. A lot of the games have been too close, though they’ve been brilliant to watch. I’m just a little concerned how open they are when they go forward. You’ll get punished against good teams if you leave space behind in midfield, or if you can’t score goals. It means there’s extra pressure on the defenders to keep clean sheets."

Despite that, Deane is content that Leeds won't fall out of the Premier League this season. They currently sit 15th with a six-point cushion between themselves and the drop zone, as well as a game in hand on Norwich City.

"I think they’ll beat the drop this season, they’ve got too much quality," said Deane, who hopes the club will do more in the transfer market this summer.

"There’s three teams that are worse than them. It’s exciting watching Leeds as you know every man is going to give 100 per cent and some of the football they play is amazing. But it’s going to be tight. I just hope they have enough legs and enough quality to see them over the line. Once that happens they’ll have to take stock over the summer and look at how the development and the future planning will be from here on in. As it’s now been two seasons back in the Premier League and in order to see the club step ahead in three or four years’ time, the recruitment has got to be right. It’s got to be done short, medium and long-term. They have to look at who’s right for the next season and the next few seasons. Then you have to look at integrating the youth with the long-term vision of the club, and giving the youth players an opportunity to thrive in the right environment."

If it is the summer of change that Deane wants to see, his hope is that the manager will remain to oversee it. Bielsa is in his fourth season as Leeds boss and has never worked anywhere for this amount of time.

"I’d like to think Bielsa is the right man for the job for the next few seasons," he said.

"He’s come in and done a fantastic job for the club, but he’s not getting any younger and he’s a long way from home. Those are the kind of negatives, but certainly how he sets his side up, it’s got its own identity, and I’d like to think he’s got a plan in place for Leeds United moving forwards. It’s an identity that everyone likes and they want to see progression."

Deane was speaking to BETDAQ.