Leeds United will need to win the play-offs if they hope to get promoted out of the Championship this season.
David Prutton has told the Yorkshire Evening Post that he believes that Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa is potentially the ideal head coach for the Championship play-offs.
The Whites will need to take a successful trip to Wembley if they want to join Norwich and Sheffield United in the Premier League next season after their automatic-promotion hopes were largely dashed by a dreadful Easter weekend.
The 1-1 draw with Aston Villa on Sunday has given the Elland Road faithful fresh optimism heading into the additional games however, and it appears that Leeds may oddly benefit from having their top two hopes quashed before they take on Ipswich Town on the final day.
Leeds have not got a good record in the play-offs, losing two finals and missing out in a semi-final since their relegation from the top flight in 2004. But Prutton insisted that Bielsa’s ability to dissect opposition teams so thoroughly could make all the difference this time around.
“They have got to trust in the tactical nous of what Bielsa should bring to these games and he feels like the kind of manager that would relish this system of football to get promoted,” he told the Yorkshire Evening Post.
“He knows his players well enough to know that he will equip them with the type of ability and layout that they can defeat whoever they come up against.”
Villa were certainly the team that many were talking about heading into last weekend after their 10-match winning run saw them comfortably secure their top six spot having looked to be too far back just a couple of months ago.
But with Leeds putting in such a better performance when Dean Smith’s men visited Elland Road, Bielsa’s side really have every reason to be optimistic that they can go on and show why they had been setting the pace for so much of the campaign.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
