'One or two' - Ilia Gruev declares Leeds United target and fires 'better team' warning to rivals

Whites midfielder Ilia Gruev has fired a "better team" message to a Championship rival in declaring Leeds United's clear target and his own individual aims.

Bulgarian international midfielder Gruev joined Leeds from Werder Bremen last summer but the 23-year-old has had to be patient in the wait for game time for Daniel Farke's Whites.

Gruev, though, has now lined up in three of United's last four games and is now eyeing the personal breakthrough of a first start at Elland Road ahead of three games at LS11 in the space of seven days.

The first of those three fixtures will present itself on Sunday lunchtime when Leeds host a Preston North End side who condemned Leeds to a 2-1 defeat in Boxing Day's reverse fixture at Deepdale in which Whites 'keeper Illan Meslier was sent off.

Gruev - who was brought on as a second-half substitute at Preston - admits 'revenge' is now definitely a factor as his Whites aim to prove they are the better side en route to fulfilling this season's top two target.

Speaking to LUTV, Gruev was asked if revenge came into United's thinking for the Preston rematch and admitted: "Of course. The first thing is it's a little bit strange because in Germany you play exactly how you play the first part of the season also the second part and here it's not like this. So it's strange that you play three weeks later also the same opponent.

"But we want to show them that we are the better team and that what happened there was a mistake of us and that we keep the three points at Elland Road. The fans are great and I love it that here in the UK they appreciate what the players do on the field. This is very nice and you hear it, when somebody has a good action or we play good then the fans are clapping and cheering and this is nice."

Pressed for his targets both individually and as a team, Gruev declared: "The most important target is to get promoted, of course. This is the most important thing for all of us, to be tied to the first one or two places and then we will see but I think everybody knows what our goal and aim is.

"For me personally  it is to help the team to do  this. To have good performances when the coach needs me, when the boss needs me, to play good and to make decisions difficult for him. And of course you want to stay in the starting XI.

"I look forward to starting at home. It would be nice because the atmosphere is great, the fans are great, it's a big stadium and I really look forward to starting at Elland Road."