Sherwood claims Leeds ace has surprised him after not being loved by previous managers

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Tim Sherwood has told Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports (03/10/20 at 12:35 pm) that Patrick Bamford has surprised him this season.

The former Premier League winner added that Bamford has ‘never’ been shown the love from previous managers that Marcelo Bielsa is now showing him and, as a result, he’s now playing with ‘confidence’.

A hard-working poacher in the penalty area, who can knit together Leeds United’s gung-ho style of play, it has been a great start to life back in the big time for Bamford.

After coming through the over-crowded Chelsea youth system, Bamford has spent a number of seasons in the second-tier and Sherwood believes it’s now paying off.

“He has [surprised me],” Sherwood told Sky Sports. “I am delighted for Patrick because he’s gone a long way round to get to the Premier League.

“He’s finally here with a team, and most importantly, a manager who really trusts him. He sticks to it. He works tirelessly. He gets himself into areas and it’s starting to reward.

“He’s got the confidence. He scored during the early part of the season and he relishing it. He’s loving it. He’s loving the fact that the manager, they have got some finances there, you have a world-class manager, and he actually loves me.

“And Patrick, of course, feels great about that. I’m not looking anywhere else. I have bought Rodrigo in, but you’re my number nine. So, automatically, a player like Patrick Bamford would grow. He’s never had that love from any other manager before, and hopefully, he pays his manager back.”

Whenever Bamford takes to the field, it seems as though he always has something to prove because a lot is made about his performances and the number of big chances he misses.

A lot of that talk happened when he was in the Championship, and even though he has jumped up to a higher level, those past critics are now full of praise for how he is leading the line for the Yorkshire giants.

Some of that could be down to a lack of pressure. Whilst playing for Leeds brings its own pressures, Bamford isn’t being analysed for every chance he misses now because his team aren’t expected to win every game. And that seemingly is helping him in his performances.