Liam Rosenior has suggested that we are playing a part in heaping more pressure on Marcelo Bielsa’s squad than our promotion rivals face, in claims shared on Sky Sports and quoted by HITC.
The former Brighton and Hove Albion ace, who earned promotion out of the Championship with the Seagulls as runners-up in 2017, considers the support we offer at Elland Road ‘fantastic’, but ‘worries’ that it could burden the players.
Speaking on Sky Sports (March 28, 2019, at 19:25), Rosenior said: “They [Aston Villa] do [have a say in how Leeds and Norwich end the season]. Obviously, with the last two home games, Leeds have a home game against Aston Villa, and the thing that worries me is they have fantastic home support.
“But because Leeds are such a big, big club, the pressure has been on them throughout the season. And Bielsa’s side have done fantastically well to stay there, of course.
“But I just feel there is not [as] much pressure on Norwich or Sheffield United, at the moment. They can go out and play with freedom. It’s really up to [the] Leeds players to take on the mantle of being that team, being that big club that are expected to be back in the Premier League.”
In terms of crowd size, there would be some evidence to support Rosenior’s claims, as we boast a higher average attendance at Elland Road than every Championship outfit other than the Villa Park natives – Dean Smith’s side, on average, play in front of 2,000 more supporters than Bielsa’s when at home.
Our promotion rivals also rank far lower than we do, with Norwich City at full capacity still coming in 5,000 down on our average 32,936, and Sheffield United often boast figures several thousand down on their theoretical maximum.
But to say that our support adds more pressure to the players is questionable, to say the least. Hopefully, when Millwall come to West Yorkshire on Saturday, the side selected to face the Lions can prove Rosenior wrong.