The Whites picked up their first win of the new Championship campaign at the weekend.
Kalvin Phillips in action last season
Kalvin Phillips has told the Yorkshire Evening Post that Leeds United have a squad and a manager capable of challenging for a top six spot in the Championship, and brushed off speculation regarding Garry Monk’s future as nonsense.
The Whites began the campaign with no win from their opening three league games, leading to rumours that the former Swansea boss’ days at Elland Road were already numbered, the Yorkshire Evening Post reports.
Leeds United manager Garry Monk
However, a fantastic 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough appears to have taken some of the pressure off Monk’s shoulders.
But Phillips has insisted that there was no serious pressure on his shoulders to begin with, before outlining just how far Monk can take his side this season.
“Obviously he’s been put under pressure,” Phillips told the Yorkshire Evening Post, “but I don’t think it’s job-threatening after two games. It’s just a load of gibberish, isn’t it? He’s a great manager.
Leeds United players celebrate after the win against Sheffield Wednesday
“The result [at Hillsborough] was well needed but it was a great performance. The lads dug deep and after the draw we got at home to Fulham, you could see the confidence running through the side.
“The potential here is good and we should be challenging for a top-six spot. This is what we’ll need to do all the way through the season – fight for those points. I think we can do it.”
Given Monk’s experience in the top flight, and the fact that he has been allowed to make several new signings over the summer, it would have surely been a huge mistake for United owner Massimo Cellino to wield the axe so early in the Englishman’s tenure.
And the decision to keep Monk – that is, if Cellino was seriously contemplating his future to begin with – was vindicated by the victory against the Owls which would have undoubtedly given the squad a huge amount of belief.
And Phillips is confident that the squad can now use that to put their slow start behind them and kick on up the table, especially with Garry Monk at the helm.
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