Leeds United captain Ethan Ampadu is refusing to accept his team have one foot in the Premier League after opening up a five point gap on third-placed Sheffield United at the weekend.
The Whites once again took advantage in the Championship title race on Saturday thanks to a 2-1 win over Preston North End. The three points was an important one after Burnley temporarily returned to the top of the table on Friday night after beating Norwich City 2-1.
Daniel Farke’s team had looked to have blown their hopes of automatic promotion only a couple of weeks ago when they recorded three successive draws. This saw them drop out of the top two for the first time since November. However, Sheffield United’s recent implosion has seen a gap begin to open up, with the Blades losing their last three outings.
Ampadu Wary Of Complacence
Thanks to their vastly superior goal difference, it is likely that Leeds will need just seven points from their remaining four fixtures to earn return to the Premier League after a two-year absence. With their latest win coinciding with Sheffield United’s defeat at Plymouth Argyle, they would have been forgiven for celebrating their latest triumph. However, Welsh international Ampadu says that wasn’t the case:
“Honestly, I wish I could say there was (a celebration) but there wasn’t. We were in this point a few weeks ago and we let it slip a little bit so until anything’s done, I think no team will let up. That’s just our mentality, I’ll be honest, I wish we could say we enjoy and think that way but we just don’t.”
Continuing, the 24-year-old said the job isn’t done yet:
“It’s not done yet. We still know there’s a fight to go. As well as (the win vs Preston is) good, we’ll enjoy it for now and move on to the next one.”
Writer’s View
Ampadu is right to be wary and will be fully focused on completing the job over the next few weeks. They almost blew it a few weeks ago whilst last season’s play-off final defeat against Southampton will still be fresh in the minds of some of the players. They do look favourites though and should have enough to get over the line, but they won’t be taking anything for granted. Their primary concern will be getting three points against Oxford United on Good Friday.
