Leeds United man slams 'absolute rubbish' bust-up rumour and reveals Andy Murray link in fightback

"That's absolute rubbish."

Have you heard the one about the fight in the Leeds United dressing room at half-time against Crystal Palace? Adam Forshaw has. He was quizzed by pals later that night and is so keenly aware that he can name both players rumoured to have been at each other’s throats.

The Whites were ahead in that game, conceded a goal just before the break and then came out a completely different team in the second half, walking off at full-time on the wrong end of 5-1 drubbing. The internet talk was that the Elland Road changing room had played host to a dust-up between team-mates, and the second half performance was fuel for the rumour to spread like wildfire.

Javi Gracia, replaced last week as head coach by Sam Allardyce, even mentioned the second half of that game as a turning point, because Leeds went on to lose the next game 6-1 to Liverpool, drew 1-1 at home with Leicester and suffered a 4-1 defeat at Bournemouth.

The Spaniard likened the team to a boxer, struggling to regain his footing from a heavy punch, but Forshaw is adamant there was no actual fisticuffs.

He said: "I'm obviously close enough with Bill [Luke Ayling] we've been here a long time and get on really well. I was actually out warming up. And then that night I'd had a lot of messages saying 'What went on? Was there a fight?' and all that and I spoke to him straightaway and he said it's absolute rubbish. I mean, I sit next to Marc [Roca] in the changing rooms and his name was mentioned. It's complete rubbish. There's nothing that went on at all."

A splinter in the dressing room would probably be understandable, maybe even natural, given the force being applied right now. The stress of a relegation battle, a six-game winless streak, a season with too few wins generally and a fed-up fanbase is a perfect storm, well capable of crushing team spirit. Forshaw, however, insists that the bond between the players remains intact, because adversity can also bring people together.

"For a player personally, I think your motivation and discipline is that we want to stay in the Premier League," he said.

"Everyone has their own reasons but you come together as a team in that aspect because we all want the same thing. We know we need each other. The camaraderie is really, really good. And even since last week with Sam and Karl [Robinson] and Robbie [Keane], coming in, they've kind of relaxed the atmosphere a little bit and given everyone a confidence boost again. I mean, I know we are in a tough pressure position but I do think the camaraderie is brilliant."

Something else Forshaw is insistent upon is that Leeds will somehow survive this scrape with relegation. Three games remain in the season, three tough games, and they sit in the drop zone, second bottom, two points from safety. Optimism is as big an ask as the points haul Allardyce might need to mastermind from this squad, but Forshaw still has it.

"People probably are thinking we're going to struggle and we may go down but I genuinely do think that we'll still get out of it," he said.

"I think the games are well, well winnable. And we showed at times on the weekend [at Manchester City] that we've got discipline and we've got structure already and yeah, I'm confident."

That game against the title favourites, a 2-1 defeat, gave Forshaw his longest Premier League run out of another injury-ravaged season. Having played just three of the opening 14 top flight games the midfielder re-entered the picture between Christmas and New Year, only to disappear again.

"I'd had a groin repair in October, on the other side to where I'd had all my problems previously in the promotion season and the first season in the Premier League," he said.

"In all honesty, I probably wasn't fully - well I wasn't right, I was at 60 per cent or something. But I knew Jesse [Marsch] and the team probably could have done with me at the time, because Tyler [Adams] was suspended and I was desperate to make it right, try and get back in the team, but I knew deep down I wasn't right. When I played the [December 28] Man City game he brought me off because he wanted me available for the Newcastle game. I was clinging on really, the three days were a quick turnaround. I was trying my hardest to help the team and then I had to come off at half-time in the Newcastle game. I had to restart the whole rehab process really because it was sort of like a patch-up job at the time to just keep myself available, whereas deep down I needed a full load of rehab."

Forshaw was put through his rehab by the club's medical chief Rob Price, first team physio Daryl Carter and James Moore, a Harley Street physio, former Team GB head of performance and a 2021 hire by tennis superstar Andy Murray. The latter, a friend of Price’s, consulted with Forshaw over Zoom and then hosted him in London.

Their combined efforts brought Forshaw back to a Premier League matchday squad for that ill-fated Palace game. All of a sudden, with Adams out following hamstring surgery, the 31-year-old is right in the thick of Allardyce's plans.

And though he finds himself once again preparing to face Newcastle on the back of a clash with Manchester City, feeling all of the responsibility in Adams' absence, this time Forshaw is physically in a good place.

"That was obviously the first game that I've started in a long time and longest I've played, so I probably was lagging a little bit with 10 or 15 minutes to go," he said.

"But I've come through the game really well. It feels really good and, you know, I'm available for the weekend. I do feel a pressure and responsibility, obviously I'm trying my hardest to help the situation and the team as much as possible but you know, I wouldn't now put myself back in if I wasn't right, because sort of my career is on the line a little bit as well, and I do physically feel good enough and ready enough to help."

If ever there was a team in need of help or a time when it was most needed, it's Leeds United and right now.

Saturday's visitors Newcastle are flying, winning eight of their last 10 including a 6-1 beating of Spurs and a 5-1 humbling of West Ham.

What Leeds have on their side is a packed Elland Road that will respond to the urgency of the situation and the feeling, if nothing else, that they put up their fists and a bit of a fight at Manchester City. He says they have to come out swinging against Newcastle.

"You only have to look at the Man City game," said Forshaw.

"We took it to the last minutes. They looked a little bit rocked in the last 10 minutes and we've got to take confidence from that. At times, don't get me wrong, it was tough to spend long spells behind the ball but for me they're the best team, probably in the world. So I think we can have confidence going into this one.

"It's a positive that we've got two games [left] at home haven't we? It's set up for a good game, they've got good fans, our fans are unbelievable at home, everyone knows that. We're gonna need them, we're gonna want to try and impress them, start on the front foot and go from there.

"We'll have it rocking. We know what the fans will be like. So, we just want to make sure we start quick, don't disappoint and stick to the game plan and I'm confident."