Leeds United lost 2-1 in Paul Heckingbottom’s first game in charge.
Paul Heckingbottom has said to Radio Yorkshire that Leeds United’s upcoming fixture list shouldn’t be as ominous as their form suggests.
Leeds slumped to a slender 2-1 defeat at Sheffield United on Saturday for what was Heckingbottom’s first game since replacing Thomas Christiansen in West Yorkshire last week.
Billy Sharp’s penalty on 73 minutes proved enough to down the Whites, who struck within two minutes of the restart through Pierre-Michel Lasogga to cancel out Sharp’s early opener.
United are now eight points adrift of the top six but a double-header against Bristol City and Derby – both of whom are in the playoff places – over the next 11 days represents a chance for Heckingbottom’s side to reduce that gap to some extent.
On this form, Leeds, who have lost five and drawn two of their seven Championship games in 2018, have little chance, but the new head coach believes things could be a lot different soon.
He told Radio Yorkshire: “The beauty is that we’re playing lots of teams above us in this run of games now, so when we’re winning we’ll be taking points off the teams we’re trying to catch.
“People have been saying to me all the time about how tough it is and the run of games ahead, but you can flip that easily and look at it differently.
“If you manage to win these games and take the points off them then you’re reeling them in.”
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