Leeds United got the monkey off their back on Saturday.
Speaking to TV Yorkshire, Neil Redfearn has described Leeds United’s 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday as a “giant stride” in Garry Monk’s reign as manager.
It took two weeks and three Championship games, but Leeds got their league campaign up and running at a Hillsborough on the weekend as second-half goals from Marcus Antonsson and Chris Wood did the damage to an Owls side which finished runners-up in the last season’s Premier League playoff.
The Whites lost their first two Championship games under Monk – a 3-0 demolition by QPR and a 2-1 defeat by Birmingham City – but a last-gasp 1-1 draw with Fulham in midweek helped restore something of a feel-good factor.
Leeds certainly appear to be improving with every match, and Redfearn believes the win over Sheffield Wednesday represents the biggest indication of that so far.
“This was a giant stride in the right direction,” he told TV Yorkshire. “I have to say that if you look at the performances they’ve been getting better and better, and this performance and result has been coming.”
The win comes at a good time for Leeds and especially Monk, whose future was already speculated about following their testing start. The Mirror reported last week that owner Massimo Cellino was considering wielding the axe on Monk after the 3-0 defeat at Loftus Road on the very first game.
The 38-year-old will be eyeing further improvement when his side visit Nottingham Forest next Saturday in their final outing before the international break.
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