Noel Whelan reacts to Barry Douglas’ performance as Leeds beat Wigan

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Barry Douglas made his return to Leeds United’s side as they moved back to the top of the Championship.

Noel Whelan has told BBC Radio Leeds that Barry Douglas looked like he had never been away as Leeds moved themselves back to the top of the Championship with a 2-1 win away at Wigan Athletic.

Douglas had not featured since the win over Hull City last month, but handed Marcelo Bielsa’s men a major boost as they prepare for life without Gaetano Berardi and Luke Ayling over the coming months.

The summer signing went straight back into the starting lineup against the Latics and arguably put in a fantastic performance as Pablo Hernandez and Kemar Roofe helped the Whites come from behind to bag the three points.

And after the win, Whelan was full of praise for the left-back, insisting he wasted absolutely no time at all making a major impact on his return to the team.

“It looked like he’d never been away. That’s the really good thing about it. Really comfortable on the ball, solid defender, knows his role, defensively and as a wing-back going forward,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.

“He just gives us such a good balance on that left-hand side. There’s always an out ball with him because he’s brave enough to get forward, probably level at times with the back four of Wigan, that’s how much width he gives you which can allow Alioski to drift inside a little bit and take that other wing-back away that creates the space for him.

“He’s very calm, he’s collected on the ball, he trusts himself, he trusts his ability. He’s one of the best left-backs in the Championship, there’s no shadow of a doubt about that.”

Douglas has certainly not been poor this term by any means, but it had appeared that the Whites had not quite seen the form that made the Scot so important to Wolves’ promotion-winning side last season.

But his display at Wigan was certainly a reminder of how much quality he actually possesses, and Leeds having him back in the side is already proving to be a massive boost for the table-toppers.