Patrick Bamford's dad thinks the striker's first season at Leeds United could have been better...and Bamford agrees

Patrick Bamford admitted that Leeds United were still to see the best of him but said he was always certain more goals would come after his match-winning strikes at Preston North End.
Patrick Bamford runs towards the away end at Deepdale after scoring Leeds United's opening goal against Preston.Patrick Bamford runs towards the away end at Deepdale after scoring Leeds United's opening goal against Preston.
Patrick Bamford runs towards the away end at Deepdale after scoring Leeds United's opening goal against Preston.

The forward silenced doubts about his form and suitability at the front of Marcelo Bielsa’s line-up with two clinical finishes in a 2-0 win at Deepdale which kept Leeds firmly in the hunt for automatic promotion.

Bamford had been guilty of missing key chances in Leeds’ previous three games and was under pressure to deliver at Preston after United started the night outside the Championship’s top two.

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His 62nd-minute finish from 20 yards put the club on course for victory and a 76th-minute header left the game beyond a Preston side who had been reduced to 10 men shortly after half-time.

Bamford’s tally of goals stands at nine near the end of an injury-ravaged season which did not begin in earnest until the beginning of February.

He became Leeds’ most expensive signing in almost 20 years when he made a £7m move from Middlesbrough last July but Bamford conceded that he was yet to show his true ability.

The 25-year-old said: “Before the game (at Preston), I was on the phone to my dad and he said ‘do you know what? You haven’t had a game for Leeds where you can say it was your best.’

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“Part of me was thinking ‘yeah dad, I have been injured for a fair chunk, come on’ but he was also right because to be honest, I don’t think the Leeds fans have seen the best of me. Even tonight, obviously I felt I played well but there’s more to come.

“I tried to put myself about in the first half, trying to be a focal point for the team and try and shoot when I could. I knew that if I kept shooting, especially after the last few games, I’d score.”