Leeds United’s Patrick Bamford called out for comments after Marsch exit amid caretaker defence

Patrick Bamford has been called out by Chris Sutton after his comments following Leeds United’s defeat to Nottingham Forest.

The Whites lost 1-0 at the City Ground on Sunday, a result that ultimately cost Jesse Marsch his job, with Leeds sacking the American the following day. But it wasn’t just the Leeds board who were left unhappy.

After the game, Whites striker Bamford was deemed to have criticised teammates. Although not by name, the striker voiced his frustration that players were not helping his case up top at the City Ground. He said: “We needed more runners running past me to drag [Forest’s centre-backs] out of position and create a bit more space. The whole game was literally two-v-one, which made it difficult, and unfortunately I couldn’t find the answers to solve that.”

On the back of that, Bamford has received criticism from a number of pundits, and the BBC’s Sutton has joined that list. He told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night Club: “Keep it in the confines of the dressing room if that’s the way you feel. He’s unburdening himself of any responsibility. I don’t like that.

“He’s not daft - he knows the implications that it will have. It will be taken as a criticism of the manager and his tactics. He’s a joke for bringing that into the public domain.”

With Marsch now gone, one of Leeds’ interim bosses, Michael Skubala, was asked about Bamford’s comments in his press conference on Tuesday. He said: “I think he was just being honest about how he was playing the game. I think it just came from the heart.”

Bamford has struggled with injury so far this season, but in the 13 Premier League appearances he has made, he has scored once and assisted as many. Though, Marsch recently spoke about Bamford’s struggles to find the net, claiming the 29-year-old has played without being fully fit this season, playing through injury and physical issues.