Leeds United should be 10 points better off in the Championship, reveals Marcelo Bielsa

The club’s head coach claimed United’s opportunities were numerous enough to leave them clear at the top of the Championship as he braced himself for the final eight games of the term.

Leeds have an intense fight on their hands having dropped to third place, beneath the automatic promotion zone, after a 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United before the international break.

Sheffield United are a point ahead of Leeds with leaders Norwich City a further four points clear.

Bielsa’s players let the Blades off the hook repeatedly before visiting midfielder Chris Basham struck in the 71st-minute to hand Sheffield United a precious win.

United’s finishing has been a source of concern for Bielsa all season but he attempted to focus on the quality of their build-up play as he looked ahead to Saturday’s meeting with Millwall at Elland Road.

Leeds have the fifth highest tally of goals in the division - 63 to date - but produce the most shots per game of any Championship club and have created over 100 more efforts over the course of the whole season than second-placed Sheffield United.

Bielsa said: “We’ve had close to 250 (clear-cut) chances to score this season. The other clubs have had about half of this.

“The top teams in the league score one in three chances and the teams that are down in the table, they need five chances to score one goal.

“We’ve created 250 so the offensive play of the team is the best (attribute) we have and if we improved our efficiency or had more luck, maybe we would have another 10 points or more.

“This is me making analysis. The real thing is the results but to correct results and to improve, we have to make this analysis.”