Leeds News

Fan favourite delivers message that will ensure his name lives on at Leeds

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By the end of the weekend, we could either be well on our way to securing automatic promotion out of the Championship, or holding our heads in our hands slumped in the Play-Offs.

If we go down the more joyful perspective route, Liam Cooper will be hailed around West Yorkshire for his part in taking Leeds back to the top-flight, after a season full of super performances befitting the fan favourite’s nickname.

His recent comments to the Telegraph will also ensure that his name rings out around Elland Road well beyond his playing days, as the 27-year-old clearly knows what it means to wear the Whites jersey.

You would have found it hard to say that a year ago, but the difference we have seen in the defender under Marcelo Bielsa has been nothing short of a sensation, and the former Chesterfield star has become a leader in our ranks, guiding the side, hopefully, back to the big-time.

“I hope that is what I represent,” Cooper said, when it was suggested that he is the epitome of Yorkshire grit. “I understand, being a Yorkshire lad, that Leeds are the biggest club in Yorkshire and one of the biggest clubs in the country.

“I get some stick in Hull for saying that, but it’s just the way it is. All my friends are Hull fans, but when you come to this club, you realise how big it is.

“Until you’re part of it, with the fans, who have been starved of top-flight football for far too long, you don’t really appreciate what it takes to play for Leeds United.

“The fans deserve promotion as much as anyone. We have to think of them in everything we do. They are with us all the time, they are different class. That’s down to the players, as well, we’ve inspired them and they inspire us, that’s a recipe for success.

“I think that is what I bring to the dressing room. I hope I show them what it means to play for Leeds, to be a Yorkshireman. Even in training, I play to the best of my ability every day, just to try and set an example.

“I’ve been a young lad and I’ve had those days when you turn up to training and don’t really fancy it. You can’t do that. If you do that in training, you’ll find the games pass you by as well. You will get found out at the weekend. I’ve been that guy, not again, that’s not for me.”

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