'Tough one to take' - Liam Cooper on Leeds United setback but Whites 'beauty' in promotion hunt

Captain Liam Cooper admits a Leeds United setback has been "hard to take" but is now focusing on a Whites "beauty" in the club's promotion quest.

Leeds saw their seven-game unbeaten run ended in Tuesday night's 1-0 defeat at Sunderland who bagged the only goal of the game through a Jobe Bellingham header in the 78th minute.

Bellingham pounced on Alex Pritchard's quick header back into the box as Leeds looked to clear and Cooper says the manner of the goal was a particularly difficult pill to swallow.

The defeat left third-placed Leeds ten points off the division's automatic promotion places but Cooper has hailed Saturday's hosting of Coventry City as providing his side with a quick opportunity to bounce back.

Writing in his captain's column in Saturday's matchday programme, Cooper said: "Unfortunately, our seven-match unbeaten streak came to an end at Sunderland in midweek. As with travelling away to Blackburn, we knew this game at the Stadium of Light would be difficult.

"They made it really tough and hard for us to break them down. The goal was a tough one to take, with the ball pinging around the area and into the path of their player, but that's football and we move on.

"The beauty of the Championship is that there is always another game following in quick succession. While we know it will be another hard battle this afternoon against Coventry, we all can't wait to get back out there today and try and get back to winning ways."