Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford has said that his teammate Adam Forshaw probably got carried away with his recent comments about promotion, as quoted in The Yorkshire Evening Post.
Midfielder Forshaw said on the Leeds That podcast on June 9 that he is confident that Leeds will clinch automatic promotion to the Premier League.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side are at the top of the Championship table at the moment.
The second tier of English football is set to resume in a matter of days, and Leeds will be determined to get the job done.
Bamford, who moved to Leeds from Middlesbrough in the summer of 2018 for a transfer fee reported by Sky Sports to be worth £7 million, believes that Forshaw got carried away.
The Yorkshire Evening Post quotes Bamford as saying when asked about Forshaw’s comments: “I think Adam has probably got a little bit carried away there because we know what the Championship is like.
”If you had looked at last year, probably just before lockdown was called, I think at the same point last year we were in a great position and then we just kind of petered off and that was a real disappointment.
“But it just shows really that the Championship is about consistency, so it’s never a forgone conclusion. Obviously we’re quietly confident that we have the ability to do it, and we’ve learnt from our mistakes, but we’ve still got to prove it and we’ve still got to play a lot of decent teams. Nothing’s decided yet.”
Meanwhile, former Middlesbrough and Queens Park Rangers midfielder Gary O’Neil believes that teams could find it easier to play at Elland Road due to no fans.
However, O’Neil has backed Leeds and second-placed West Brom to win automatic promotion to the Premier League.
Leeds Live quotes O’Neil as saying: “Fulham didn’t take advantage of it and West Brom and Leeds have managed to build that gap again.
“It will be interesting to see how they come back from this little break they had. Especially going to Leeds with no fans in the stadium may be easier for teams, because it is quite a hostile place.
“Whereas Fulham doesn’t have that feel anyway. When you go to Craven Cottage it is always a friendly and nice place. So it may be a slight advantage in it for Fulham. But I would be very, very surprised if the top two don’t go straight up.”
Back in action
Leeds will take on Cardiff City away from home at the Cardiff City Stadium in the Championship next Sunday.
Meanwhile, West Brom will lock horns with Birmingham City at The Hawthorns in the Championship next Saturday.
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