"We are not" - Jaka Bijol admission on Leeds United draw at Sunderland with new difference and evolution call
Jaka Bijol on Leeds United’s goalless draw at Sunderland.
Jaka Bijol made an honest admission following Leeds United’s draw at bottom-of-the-table Sunderland with positives to build on but a new Whites difference 12 months on.
Bijol had been restricted to just one short outing from the bench in United’s last four league games but the Slovenian international centre-back was brought into the XI to replace the unwell Niceo Elvedi in Sunday’s clash at the Stadium of Light.
A game played in atrocious windy conditions ultimately produced no goals and Bijol played a big part in helping Leeds to their clean sheet with some particularly strong defending after the break.
The result marked a third draw at Sunderland in a row for Daniel Farke’s Whites who moved back into seventh place but Bijol admitted his men were not totally satisfied with a point as he pointed to changes in expectations in the team’s second season in the Premier League.
“I think we are not totally satisfied with it but we take the point,” said Bijol to post match media as quoted by Leeds United’s official website.
“I think last season we were really happy with the point here but it is a little bit different. We wanted to take all three points but we look forward now.
“For sure we would want to create more in the last third but I think we had our chances as well, we just didn’t take them at the end. Especially the last two minutes, I think we had some really good opportunities to score and to take the three points. We take the point and we go again next week.
“We have to want it more at the end to take those three points”
“To be honest, it was tough to play football today because of the conditions, because of the wind. Every ball was a little bit different. You really have to be concentrated on every ball and yet it surprises you sometimes. One is a little bit shorter, one is a little bit longer, so you don’t really know what to expect.
“We wanted to take all three. Like I said, I think last season we were satisfied with it but this season is a little bit different. We have to want it more at the end to take those three points, to change the mentality as well a little bit and to make that next step in our evolution as a team.
“I think we are on a good way to do that. We are showing some really good progress, I would say, in regards to last season. We want to make that next step and everyone in the locker room can feel that.”