Kemar Roofe defends former Leeds United team mate Patrick Bamford over 'unfair stick'

Bamford has led the line for United throughout the currently paused Championship campaign with Whites head coach Marcelo Bielsa keeping the faith despite the striker going ten games without a goal from August 31 until November 2.

The forward then hit a hot streak by netting six in his next eight fixtures with a subsequent run of five games without a goal then followed by a brace in the 3-2 win at home to Millwall.

After another seven games without netting, the striker then bagged United's second goal in the 2-0 win at home to Huddersfield Town over the first full weekend in March which has proved United's most recent outing due to the current global fight against coronavirus.

Roofe knows all about playing the Whites no 9 role having often been used in the position in the three years at Leeds that followed his move from Oxford United in the summer of 2016.

Roofe then moved to Belgian side Anderlecht last summer.

“Playing as a No9 is the hardest position on the pitch," said Roofe, speaking in an interview with The Sun.

"It’s hard to get a top, top striker who can score week in, week out and when you can get one it’s expensive.

“You have to deal with so much pressure.

"If you don’t take those chances people say you’re not good enough or if you don’t score for a while you start to think, ‘When am I going to get another chance to score?’ and when you get that chance it might be on your mind, ‘Will I score it?’ You have to be mentally strong.

“It’s a bit unfair for him because he gets a lot of stick and sometimes he doesn’t deserve it.

“Bielsa keeps faith in him because he has that system and players that he trusts play in.

“For Marcelo, the most disappointing thing is not for him to not be scoring, it will be not doing the work on the pitch or getting yourself into the position to score.

“So if for example he sees a player not making a run to get on the end of a cross he will be very disappointed.

“If you’re in that position and miss an open goal, he won’t be happy but not as disappointed as the first scenario.”

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