Joel Piroe's 3-word Leeds United battle cry after Millwall win

Joel Piroe turned focus to the future immediately after Leeds United’s 2-0 win over Millwall with a Championship promotion race battle cry.

Piroe enjoyed an excellent individual performance as Leeds bounced back from Sunday’s defeat at Portsmouth to go top of the Championship once again. Jake Cooper’s own goal handed the Whites an early advantage but despite their dominance, it wasn't until the 85th minute that Ao Tanaka fired home a second much to the relief of those inside Elland Road.

The Whites No.9 could easily have notched a goal for himself but a beautifully crafted first-half effort was cruelly ruled out for offside. Piroe and Brenden Aaronson linked up before the Dutchman skipped beyond Cooper and fired an effort into the roof of the net, only for his teammate to be deemed ever-so-slightly offside - a decision that irked Leeds boss Farke after full-time.

Piroe’s Millwall reaction

Piroe might feel a little disappointed to have not scored but with Leeds so close to achieving their ultimate goal of promotion, three points is all that mattered. And that will be all that matters each time they step onto the pitch between now and May, with the top-scoring frontman acknowledging the importance of every remaining fixture.

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In a post on Instagram shortly after full-time, Piroe simply wrote: “9 MORE FINALS”. Leeds teammate Manor Solomon was among those to comment below, posting a couple of bicep emojis to reflect another strong performance.

The first of those finals will come along quickly, with Leeds due at Queens Park Rangers on Saturday lunchtime. Piroe and his teammates will have the chance to further increase their lead at the top of the Championship, with Burnley not due at Swansea until later that day while Sheffield United face Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday.

Leeds run-in assessed

Leeds have had issues with early kick-offs under Farke, with last weekend’s defeat at Portsmouth their fourth league loss of the season, three of which have come in early kick-offs - the others being against Burnley and Blackburn Rovers. The Whites have played 10 Championship games before 2pm so far this campaign and have just two wins.

The March international break follows that lunchtime trip to Loftus Road, with a trio of Welsh stars and Dominican Republic man Junior Firpo - but not Brenden Aaronson - set to head off and represent their countries. Leeds will be desperate to remain top of the Championship for that two-week hiatus, as they were last season. The hope is they can finish much stronger than they did a year ago.

Upon returning, Leeds face two bottom-half outfits in Swansea City and Millwall while Burnley and Sheffield United must each come up against play-off hopefuls Coventry City. Farke’s side will hope they can extend their lead at the Championship’s summit but the race for promotion looks set to go right to the wire once again.