Leeds United legend Eddie Gray casts verdict on Whites' promotion prospects

In a bid to make amends for last year's late collapse, Bielsa's second-placed Leeds have a five-point cushion in the Championship's automatic promotion spots ahead of Saturday's trip to Hull City.

Eleven games now stand between Leeds and Premier League football for the first time since 2004, one year on from spending the majority of the season in the top two only to fall away in the final month to finish third.

Defeat in the play-offs semi-finals to Derby County followed but Gray believes last season's heartache will ultimately stand the Whites in good stead to produce the desired outcome 12 months on.

"Obviously I'm looking forward to the end of the season," said Gray, speaking at the 2020 Leeds Sports Awards.

"Marcelo Bielsa and his team have done extremely well.

"Last season we thought we were going to do it and it never happened but I'm pretty confident it will happen this season.

"It looks good but I just hope it happens and I think before the end of the season there will be a few finger nails getting bitten.

"We've a lot of games that we will be expected to win and it will be difficult. It's a funny league the Championship.

"I still get nervous watching the games. But I think the players will have learned from last season, they are more experienced, they know what they have got to do now.

"There's 11 games left, six of them are at home against a lot of sides that are below us in the league but I don't know if I should say that or not because last season Wigan beat us and that was the start of the downward trend for the football club.

"But I am pretty confident this season with the squad that is there and the way they are playing football that they are good enough to go up."

Gray was speaking as the 2020 Leeds Sports Awards highlighted a century of football at the Whites following the club's formation back in 1919.

As part of the club's celebrations, Don Revie's Whites side of 1967-74 were awarded the freedom of the city back in October.

"It would be great this year if we can go up in the centenary year," said Gray.

"A lot of things have happened this year, the centenary dinner with all the players that I played with and being given freedom of this great city of Leeds.

"It's a great honour that for everybody and I know all the boys were really thrilled when that happened.

"I think the city needs a Premier League football club.

"I think it's the biggest city in Europe that has not got a team playing in the top flight so hopefully next season we can look forward to once again playing against Man United and the Liverpools and the Arsenals of this world."

Asked what the man at the helm Bielsa was really like, Gray smiled: "I don't really know. I don't think anybody does.

"What you see is what you get, you see him on television and that's what he is.

"It says a lot of the man, he must be a genius at what he does but I don't think he speaks English too well or he doesn't want to speak English, I don't really know.

"But the players respond to him and that's the most important thing.

"People that are highly respected in the game and coaches in the game pay him the biggest compliments so hopefully be can lead the club and the players back into the big time.

"If he does that he will always be remembered in this city."