Leeds United v QPR: Job not even half done says Adam Forshaw who eyes big improvement at Whites

MIDFIELDER Adam Forshaw says Leeds United will have no difficulty keeping a lid on current progress, declaring: 'we haven't got half the points we'd need if we want to go up automatically.'
FEET ON THE GROUND: Adam Forshaw.FEET ON THE GROUND: Adam Forshaw.
FEET ON THE GROUND: Adam Forshaw.

United will seek their fourth Championship win in succession with Saturday afternoon’s hosting of Queens Park Rangers which Leeds approach sat second and just one point behind leaders Norwich City.

After 20 games played, Marcelo Bielsa’s Whites appear well poised for a long-awaited return to the Premier League having accumulated 39 points from their first 20 games – just one short of the two-points-a-game marker that almost always leads to automatic promotion.

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But Forshaw insists the task to finish in the division’s top two is not even 50 per cent complete at Leeds with less than half the season played and the midfielder believes his men can still massively improve under their Argentinian head coach.

Forshaw reasoned: “We haven’t got half the points that we’d need if we want to go up automatically yet.

“There’s a big period to go in these next five or six games and let’s see how we can come through these.

“We have gone into it with great momentum and a few clean sheets and looking like a really solid unit as well now.

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“But we are not half way through the season yet. We have had a good start/first third to the season and we can improve, we can still improve a lot.”

United’s progress has been achieved despite a spate of injuries with captain Liam Cooper, Luke Ayling, Gaetano Berardi, Stuart Dallas and Tom Pearce all missing for the QPR clash as well as goalkeeper Jamal Blackman who is out for the season with a broken leg.

Injuries have often led to players being fielded in different positions – a demand that Forshaw says his men should be happy to embrace.

Midfielder Kalvin Phillips has notably been moulded into a centre-back by Bielsa and Forshaw said: “If you have an understanding of the game which Kalvin obviously does, you take it in your stride.

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“Obviously as players we all want to learn and if we can play other positions and you can be a good hand to the manager in that case then I think it can only benefit all of us.”

“As difficult as it might be, I don’t see why you wouldn’t want to be able to play in other positions as well.

"The manager likes you to play a couple of positions.

"I do like playing as a six sort of because you get to see a lot of the ball but if you play further up you can get involved and hopefully chip in a little bit."

Reflecting on his own recent progress which has seen him become a regular starter in centre midfield, Forshaw added: "It's great to be playing.

"Obviously you want to be playing every week if you can.

"I had to bide my time a little bit but I am pleased to be back involved and we are winning games."