Leeds United sit at the summit of the Championship with a five-point lead following their 3-1 win over Sheffield United at Bramall Lane on Monday night. The Whites are now poised to earn automatic promotion to the Premier League and only a cataclysmic loss of form from here on would stop them from being in the top flight next season. There is palpable excitement around Leeds going up and the anticipation amongst the fanbase is building. Daniel Farke and his players would not want to tempt fate but they are now widely expected to go up. However, there are a few who are insistent that Leeds should not start celebrating promotion this early.
The win over Sheffield United this week has added further confidence and spring in the steps of the Leeds United players as they march towards securing automatic promotion at the end of the season.
Farke is trying hard to keep everyone grounded and last season’s bitter memories are still being used as a warning, but the fans are now almost certain that they are going up to the Premier League.
The talk of what Leeds would need to do in the summer transfer window to increase the quality of their squad by several manifolds is already doing the rounds.
Leeds are getting compared with the teams who went up last season, and whether they would fare better than the three teams who are now favourites to get relegated.
However, some voices are still insistent that Leeds should not commit the mistake of celebrating too early at this stage.
‘Still a long way to go’ – talkSPORT presenter
Leeds have a five-point lead over Sheffield United at the top and more importantly, a seven-point buffer over Burnley who are sitting just outside the automatic promotion spots.
They still have 12 games remaining in the season and while the Championship is a dangerously unpredictable league, it would take a loss of form of monumental proportions for the Whites to not earn automatic promotion.
However, Leeds and their fans are being warned that they should not get complacent yet and there is still a long way to go before they can celebrate getting promoted.
At the end of a call with a Leeds fan during a show, the talkSPORT presenter Andy Goldstein insisted that they still can’t start thinking about playing in the Premier League next season.
“In his [a Leeds fan he spoke to during the show] mind, he is already up”, Goldstein said on talkSPORT.
“Long way to go, totally.”
Goldstein hasn’t seen enough of Leeds this season
Following Leeds’ win over Sunderland last week, Farke claimed that 20 more points from their remaining 13 games should be enough to get automatic promotion to the Premier League.
The win over Sheffield United means three more points have been achieved, so another 17 points from their remaining 12 games should get the job done.
Given how Leeds have been playing, Farke’s aim now looks conservative and they will get a few more points than his goal by the end of the season.
Can you name the missing sponsor from these 10 Leeds United shirts?
Goldstein is right about early celebrations but the source of the Leeds fans’ confidence is down to the fact that their side are looking more or less imperious at the moment.
Leeds’ away form has improved staggeringly and they remain more or less unbeatable at home. If the Whites just win their remaining game at Elland Road, they would get promoted.
Yes, there are still 48 points to play for and Farke would be working doubly hard to keep his players grounded and focused in the coming weeks.
However, it seems now a certainty that Leeds will be a Premier League team at the end of the Championship campaign.
He’s correct. There is still a long way to go and promotion is not guaranteed until it is. But this Leeds side are a different beast in this league and for them to toss it away now would be like watching Scum win a game