Leeds boss Christiansen should be grateful for Radrizzani

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Leeds United went into the international break having lost three of their previous four Championship games.

A look at the Championship table should provide plenty of optimism for a Leeds fan as they currently fifth, just four points off the summit. Nevertheless, the Elland Road faithful would be forgiven for going into this break feeling slightly deflated.

The Whites have lost three of their last four league games, including a 3-1 defeat to Cardiff City and a 3-0 loss away at Sheffield Wednesday.

It must be said that Thomas Christiansen has done a fantastic job so far with only a couple of negatives to speak of, and should be under absolutely no pressure at this stage.

Few were anticipating that Leeds would be amongst the early pace-setters, especially as they made a managerial appointment that no-one saw coming, made a number of signings who had no previous Championship experience and sold the player who shouldered the majority of the goalscoring burden last season.

So, just to reiterate, Christiansen and the Leeds hierarchy deserve plenty of praise for the work that they have done.

But perhaps it would be fair to suggest that the run that took Leeds into the international break would have left the former Spain international fighting for his job had former owner Massimo Cellino still been in charge.

Cellino arrived in England with the reputation of being an incredibly ruthless owner who had no qualms about sacking his head coach when results went downhill, and he did little to move away from that image during his time with Leeds, with Dave Hockaday, Darko Milanic and Uwe Rosler managing just 24 games between them.

That ruthless streak may have meant that, had Leeds’ most recent run come during his time as owner, the 44-year-old would have been forgiven for being extremely worried about his future at the club, especially given the manner of the last couple of defeats and with the international break presenting owners with the best chance, once the season has begun, to find a new manager.

But, thankfully for Whites fans, Leeds appear to be nowhere near as volatile now. Christiansen has earned the chance to lead the team out of this recent run without facing questions about his future, and that is a further indication of how far the club has come in a short space of time.