'He's got it all' - former Leeds United defender on Whites youngster, Patrick Bamford's England chances and Everton set-pieces

We were outstanding. When Leeds United are all on the same page they’re capable of these results, even with injuries and players having to come in. The team looked strong. Everyone was at it, defensively. I feel like they stepped it up and got back to the Leeds we’ve seen previously this season.

It looked like there was a real confidence throughout the team.

The two Leicester games were polar opposites and this one suggests we’ve grown up a lot.

People will point out that Jamie Vardy wasn’t playing but it doesn’t matter; you can only play against the team in front of you.

At the back, Pascal Struijk had another solid game beside Liam Cooper and he’s growing on me massively.

Because I played that position, I look at where Cooper is during games, I look at where Struijk is and positionally he’s good. He reads the game a lot better than he’s credited for. He’ll get even better too. Struijk is one to look out for. There’s plenty of work to be done but, with the size of him, his physicality, his passing, he’s got it all and can step into midfield.

He looks very calm on the ball, players who are a bit erratic are not for me but he looks comfortable in possession.

It just shows some of the business Leeds have done, beyond the big signings of Raphinha and Rodrigo; there are a lot of players they’ve brought in and improved and developed.

The Rodrigo injury is so unfortunate because we’re just starting to get some consistency out of him.

You know you always get that from Stuart Dallas, who is playing in the midfield right now, and Kalvin Phillips is hugely important. When you add Raphinha, Jack Harrison and Rodrigo, it’s not a bad side, is it?

Mateusz Klich has been out of the team because others have been doing better and that’s good to see.

I know he will be around the team again because of injuries but Marcelo Bielsa is not scared of leaving people out.

Klich was always a starter under Bielsa and, when I was at Leeds, I was always in the team and I never wanted to come out because I was scared of not getting back in.

Certain players look fairly safe in their positions but it’s a good thing that there can be some competition, spurring you on to do your job, to do everything right. It’s massive.

One player who has nailed his position down is Patrick Bamford. We all wanted to see how he would adapt to the Premier League and, fair play to him, he’s been outstanding. He puts everything in, a huge effort into every single game, but he’s grown and got better.

He’s got real confidence and he’s enjoying his football. If you’re going to work with a smile on your face, it helps. The England talk shows just how well he’s doing. Having internationals in training, like Phillips, Cooper, Rodrigo, Dallas, will only help the squad to improve. Being around and playing with those players makes you better. At Liverpool, as a young lad, I was playing with internationals all the time and you can see the difference in players who are operating at that level.

If anyone deserves a chance this year, based on performances, it’s Bamford. I would be delighted to see it. It would be the icing on the cake.

Eleven league goals is more than I thought he would get, by this stage. Sometimes you wonder if a player has gone past the age where it could happen for him but that’s not the case with Patrick, not with the way he’s playing.

Against Leicester he was terrific and the goal was a belter. You could put together a highlight reel of his goals and some of the ones Leeds have scored. Leeds score some brilliant goals, individual goals, team goals, every type.

Even in Sunday’s game when Leeds were playing well, Bielsa was still snapping at people on the touchline and I love seeing that, when a manager or coach shows that attitude and passion. Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, they all do it because they care about football so much. When you see managers who don’t show that, fans look at it and think ‘he doesn’t care too much’. Bielsa is in a position where there’s so much confidence in him from the fans and the public, in what he brings, that it helps everyone.

He and his staff have been so important for Leeds and they seem to be getting things right. Even after a couple of bad results, they seem to come to terms with the problems very quickly and bounce back. It’s a vital skill. I’ve been in teams, in runs when you’re struggling for form and can’t get a win. Bielsa sticks to his principles and works out how to get a result.

Leeds might even improve now, because they’re not going to get relegated. I’m not saying they can relax - we want to see them finish as high as they can - but they can certainly enjoy their football and a free-flowing Leeds United is well worth watching.

If they can just iron out a couple of mistakes, we’ll be a real force to be reckoned with. Keeping momentum is important but you can see an inner strength at Leeds at the minute ahead of the Everton game.

Everton have some good players and Carlo Ancelotti will have them well organised but this is another opportunity for Leeds. It will be a tough game but I think Bielsa thrives coming up against coaches like Klopp, Guardiola, the best managers. Set-pieces will be key with Everton’s physicality, players like Yerry Mina and with Ancelotti’s attention to detail they’ll try to punish Leeds.

Hopefully the new surface will help Leeds move the ball a bit quicker and with confidence, in a game I think we’re well capable of winning.

Dominic Matteo's column in association with Data Facilities.