Leeds skipper has sent a warning out to those at the club by saying that sides will look to park the bus against us this season.
We’ve already torn the likes of Derby and Stoke City apart this season and clearly we are one of the teams to fear most this year in the second tier.
With that in mind, though, clubs are going to defend more against us and try and frustrate – as Middlesbrough did largely on Friday night.
With that in mind, then, Cooper has sent out a warning that we’ll have to deal with such stunts more this year as we look to go for promotion.
As quoted by the Yorkshire Evening Post, the skipper said:
“I think we have got to be prepared for a lot of teams to come to Elland Road and play like that this year.
“We know Middlesbrough are a real threat from set plays but to a man we defended well, first ball, second balls.
“We knew it was going to be one of them games.
“It was two different teams and two different styles, two good teams but I think there was only one team that was going to score in the second half and it felt like it was going to be us.”
He is right, unfortunately.
Few teams will be able to outgun us this season – especially at home – and so we’ll see more and more sides parking the bus as it were.