Why the international break could provide a timely boost for Leeds United

The timing of this international break had positives and negatives for Leeds United.
Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford.Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford.
Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford.

Pontus Jansson might miss just one game with his knee injury and Kemar Roofe and Adam Forshaw have two empty weeks to work on their fitness.

In all, it is a last chance for the club’s squad to draw breath before the Championship sorts itself out.

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But Saturday’s defeat to Sheffield United, a sobering result in Leeds’ biggest game of the season so far, made the club’s next game at home to Millwall feel very distant.

The urge to get back on the horse was there at the weekend and the offer of a rest from Marcelo Bielsa was not much of a bonus for his players.

Sheffield United have gone to Spain for warm-weather training with Chris Wilder but Bielsa’s side were given the first half of this week off to recover and, in theory, relax.

They might benefit from some downtime before an eight-match sprint to the finishing line but they are spending this fortnight outside the Championship’s top two, itching for the football to start again. Patrick Bamford, United’s centre-forward, said the rest might be useful for a squad whose high tempo has rarely dropped since the start of the term but admitted the timing of the break was frustrating with a potentially costly loss behind them.

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“We’ve had a lot of games in a short period of time so in that respect, with the physical output we put in, we probably needed a rest,” Bamford said.

“But when you lose, if you asked most of the boys, if there was a game on Tuesday then they’d have preferred that than having two weeks off.

“It’s one of them where it’s 50-50. There are pros to it and there are cons to it. It’s just annoying that we lost.”

Bielsa has planned double sessions for the back end of this week, redoubling efforts for a five-week race which seems increasingly likely to depend on the very last round of games, and the ground lost by his players at Elland Road on Saturday was less concerning than the impetus Sheffield United gained from their 1-0 win.

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Leeds, in third, are just a point behind Wilder’s team and the fixture lists in front of both clubs are difficult enough to suggest that points will be spilled during the run-in. Both are due to visit Preston North End and Birmingham City back to back in the space of a few days next month and the Blades host Bristol City at Bramall Lane next. They, all the same, have their tails up after edging a high-stakes derby with Leeds.

“We know it’s kind of taken out of our hands, if you like, but Norwich and Sheffield have got good teams to play and, at this stage of the season, there’s not one team in the Championship who aren’t playing for something,” Bamford said.

“They’re either fighting relegation or they’re trying to push into the play-offs and put a run together so I think that’s a good thing. Even though we’re relying on somebody else to help us out a little bit, everyone is playing for something.

“The fact that we lost (on Saturday to Sheffield United) might actually help.

“I know that sounds quite strange, but sometimes you need that kick up the backside.”