Leeds United are ninth in the Championship ahead of their trip to Norwich.
How Leeds United fare in Saturday’s trip to Norwich will be a barometer as to whether Garry Monk’s side are “serious contenders” for promotion, Neil Redfearn told Radio Yorkshire.
Leeds visit Carrow Road this weekend aiming to extend their fine form in the Championship and potentially move into the playoff places in the process.
Garry Monk’s side have won eight of their last 11 games in all competitions, and one of those was against the Canaries as United dumped their Championship rivals out of the League Cup in a penalty shootout only last week.
The Whites, who sit ninth in the table, have dropped quite a few points in games against teams in and around them, with three of their six defeats coming against Huddersfield, Birmingham and Queen Park Rangers this season.
At the moment, there is plenty of optimism surrounding a playoff bid come the end of the season, but ex-Leeds boss Redfearn tells Radio Yorkshire that beating Norwich – who sit fourth, and were one of the pre-season favourites for promotion – would be an excellent indicator that his former side are prepared to mount a serious challenge.
“If you’re going to really seriously mount a challenge then you’ve got to be beating people in that top six. Birmingham rolled Leeds over, so it’s the sides that are nearer the top,” he said.
“Looking at the fixture list I think there are quite a few of them coming up now, there’s Newcastle, Brighton, Reading soon, Brentford are not far off – and these are all sides that are in the top ten.
“So that’s the acid test as regards whether Leeds are serious contenders.”
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