'Still eminently doable' - ex-Leeds United man keeps faith but admits situation has changed

All of a sudden, things have changed a heck of a lot for Leeds United and we’re right in amongst it at the wrong end of the table, at the wrong time.
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If you think about where we were a couple of weeks ago, the gap we had, we knew others had games in hand but they had to go and win them. Well, they have and now it feels as if we’re worse off. It feels a lot, lot tighter. We have a couple of big games coming up and it’s vital we get something out of them.

To beat Manchester City was always going to be a very tall task, no matter what team they put out or the game they had coming up, because the quality they have is exceptional. What was important was that we gave a performance, playing with a tactics and style that you could see was understood by the players, and I thought we did that. We played pretty well. There were some chances and moments when we should have done better and, once again, I think that that final pass is letting us down but we certainly gave as good as we got. But, of course, every time they get the ball, they’re going to be very dangerous and you have to concentrate and make no mistakes. Unfortunately, we just made one or two little errors here and there. The scoreline was harsh; we certainly did not deserve that but I saw some positives that we are going to need in the last few games.

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Junior Firpo coming in was a little surprising, but you could see why he would sacrifice someone for playing further forward to solidify things at the back and I think, more often than not, it worked fine. On the counter and at set-pieces we had chances but we couldn’t capitalise on them. I think, in the second half, it then got a little crazy because we had to start chasing the game and then, obviously, Raphinha at right wing-back wouldn’t be ideal but Jesse [Marsch] went for forward players just trying to get something back. At 2-0 it was always going to be difficult anyway, but we still had one or two chances and still we couldn’t quite score. I think it was a case of how can we contain them, how can we frustrate them, how can we then capitalise on anything that we may get and I thought, to a certain point, that worked fine.

The injury to Stuart Dallas was a shocker. It was awful. He was chasing around everywhere, he was always so close to Grealish, working extremely hard, closing down exactly as his manager would have wanted. I watched the replay of the challenge and the momentum just went through right at the wrong place around his knee area and it was dreadful. Losing Liam Cooper was bad enough - there’s been plenty of debate over who the best centre-halves are but there’s no doubt he’s been absolutely superb since coming back from a multi-month lay-off - but Dallas is another huge miss because, when there has been an issue in the team, he fills that gap brilliantly. He is a huge loss.

We will need leaders now and Kalvin Phillips is going to be key. The first 20 minutes against City was tough for Phillips but, after that, he stepped up and, in the second half, I thought it was really good. It was more reminiscent of the Phillips we know - Crystal Palace was a difficult game and he didn’t really have the influence we would like - and, against City, he started to come into his own again. Robin Koch is going to be important, too. I think he’s looking more like the German international that we signed and he’ll feel more comfortable playing in the centre of the defence.

Whoever Jesse puts out there, they’re all going to have to pull together. At least they know they will have the crowd with them. The last 15, 20 minutes at Elland Road was truly mind boggling. We all know how the fans support the side - they travel here - there and everywhere but Saturday’s incessant noise was quite amazing. It was an immense reaction to the scoreline and, while we’ve seen some good atmospheres, that took things up a notch. After the game, up in the gantry, Lee Dixon and Andy Townsend were coming up to me and asking what the hell is going on here? Imagine what the crowd would have been like if we had scored. The support is incredible and it’s clear that the fans cannot do any more. We’re going to need all of that and the players are going to need to respond to that right to the very end. Let’s see if that’s going to be good enough, but there are still lots of points to play for, lots of twists and turns.

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There’s no point being negative - that’s not going to help anyone. What you’ve got is 12 points left, four games, plenty to go at. If it was one game left and we needed a miracle, then we’d have a big problem but this isn’t that situation. This is still eminently doable. Everton beat Chelsea, we’ve got Chelsea at home so why can’t we beat them? You have to remain on that front foot and it was going to be difficult to take anything from the City game but what positives can we take forward? I saw quite a few. That’s what the boys and Jesse will be taking into the next game.

KEY MAN - Tony Dorigo says Kalvin Phillips will be vital for Leeds United at a team when they need leaders on the pitch. Pic: Simon HulmeKEY MAN - Tony Dorigo says Kalvin Phillips will be vital for Leeds United at a team when they need leaders on the pitch. Pic: Simon Hulme
KEY MAN - Tony Dorigo says Kalvin Phillips will be vital for Leeds United at a team when they need leaders on the pitch. Pic: Simon Hulme

Arsenal away is going to be a hard one because it’s a case of whoever or whatever we’ve got left, fits. I’m not sure where Bamford is with his fitness but, whoever plays, you know the spirit will be spot on and they’ll give everything. They’ve always been a really honest bunch of lads and no doubt they’re feeling it. Those feelings of disappointment have to be put to the back of their minds if they’re to go out there nice and positive to try and win a football match. There will be no one trying harder than the players and no one singing louder than our fans.

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