Former Leeds United man delivers 'confident' Whites promotion verdict concerning Burnley and Sunderland

Ex-Leeds United player Lee Sharpe believes his former club will use the ‘disappointment’ of losing in the play-off final last season to fuel their push for promotion this time around and is ‘confident’ they will go up. The Whites were beaten 1-0 at Wembley by Southampton.

Daniel Farke’s side have since made a solid start to the new Championship campaign and are sat in 3rd place behind Sunderland and Burnley. They have lost only once and are proving to be a tough nut to crack in defence.

Leeds have 23 points on the board after their first 12 fixtures. The Yorkshire outfit need to be a bit more ruthless in front of goal though and drew 0-0 away at Bristol City last time out. They weren’t able to break the deadlock at Ashton Gate and are back in action this weekend with a home clash against Plymouth Argyle as they aim for three points.

‘Massive football club’...

Sharpe has said: “I'm sure that's (promotion) on Daniel Farke’s to do list, get Leeds United back in the Premier League. Leeds are a massive football club. They would have used the disappointment of missing out on the play-off final as fuel to keep them hungry this season – that would have been a horrible feeling and one that none of these players will want to repeat.

“So that’s the motivation for the group and for Farke himself. I’m confident that Farke can take Leeds back to the Premier League this season. I think he’s the right man for the job. They’re in the top three at the moment and playing some good football – they were unfortunate not to beat Bristol at the weekend. Farke is doing a great job. He’s got some really good players there.

“And again, if you can keep people fit, I think they're looking at promotion. I think Leeds are good enough for automatic promotion, but, if they had to do it via the play-off, then I’m confident that they would be able to after what happened last season.”

He added: “Like any club, the Leeds United fans expect their club’s owners to be ambitious and to invest in the club. They want investment and backing. I think the problem Leeds had the last time they came up was squad depth. I don't think Bielsa spent money and rotated his squad enough and everyone got tired because of the demands that he puts on his football teams. The amount of energy that went into that side, everyone was knackered by the end. Leeds will need a stronger squad when they return to the Premier League.”

Sharpe was on the books at Leeds from 1996 to 1998 after joining from rivals Manchester United. He went on to make 37 appearances during his days at Elland Road and chipped in with six goals.

The former left winger then went on to play for the likes of Sampdoria, Bradford City, Portsmouth and Exeter City. The Halesowen-born man hung up his boots back in 2004 and has since delved into the world of punditry.