‘We know we’re underachieving’ - Liam Cooper comments on Leeds United’s season
Here is the City 24/12/14
Billy Hawkins
The Whites have suffered a season of confusion and uncertainty, with managerial changes and ownership problems evolving into an impending transfer embargo.
Having started the season with Dave Hockaday in charge, before moving through Neil Redfearn as a caretaker manager, and Darko Milanic for a short spell, the Yorkshire-based club have finally found some stability under Redfearn in his first full-time role as head coach of the Whites.
Results are still not overly forthcoming - with no win in three games - and Leeds sit in 18th place, just five points off the final relegation place.
A chance of securing a play-off place is looking increasingly distant with each passing week - with a 14 point gap now opened up on 6th place Watford - and it looks as if the rest of this season will be used to continue stabilising the club before building ahead of a promising season next year.
Redfearn has done much to work on a number of the problems surrounding the club at the beginning of the campaign, deciding on a fairly consistent first-team and allowing a number of outcast players to leave the club on loan to reduce the wage bill of the club already hit by FFP restrictions.
But the former academy coach will be judged on his results, and central defender Liam Cooper is keen to see the Whites kick-start their season on Boxing Day, when Leeds host Wigan at Elland Road - knowing that the club have underachieved so far this term.
Speaking to the official Leeds website, Cooper said: “I think anybody would say in this league that there’s no easy game. We’ll certainly approach it [the Wigan game] in the right way.
“We want to climb that table. We know we’re underachieving and we want to be higher.
“The fans need that as well so hopefully we can push right up the league.”
Thankfully for Redfearn, his previous roles at Elland Road have given him the backing of the fans, and his willingness to utilise the youth produced by the Whites has made him a crowd favourite.
He will be given more time to turn around results in Yorkshire, and it could be this support which sees him turn things around, and finally lead the club up the Championship table - and back into the Premier League.
Billy Hawkins
The Whites have suffered a season of confusion and uncertainty, with managerial changes and ownership problems evolving into an impending transfer embargo.
Having started the season with Dave Hockaday in charge, before moving through Neil Redfearn as a caretaker manager, and Darko Milanic for a short spell, the Yorkshire-based club have finally found some stability under Redfearn in his first full-time role as head coach of the Whites.
Results are still not overly forthcoming - with no win in three games - and Leeds sit in 18th place, just five points off the final relegation place.
A chance of securing a play-off place is looking increasingly distant with each passing week - with a 14 point gap now opened up on 6th place Watford - and it looks as if the rest of this season will be used to continue stabilising the club before building ahead of a promising season next year.
Redfearn has done much to work on a number of the problems surrounding the club at the beginning of the campaign, deciding on a fairly consistent first-team and allowing a number of outcast players to leave the club on loan to reduce the wage bill of the club already hit by FFP restrictions.
But the former academy coach will be judged on his results, and central defender Liam Cooper is keen to see the Whites kick-start their season on Boxing Day, when Leeds host Wigan at Elland Road - knowing that the club have underachieved so far this term.
Speaking to the official Leeds website, Cooper said: “I think anybody would say in this league that there’s no easy game. We’ll certainly approach it [the Wigan game] in the right way.
“We want to climb that table. We know we’re underachieving and we want to be higher.
“The fans need that as well so hopefully we can push right up the league.”
Thankfully for Redfearn, his previous roles at Elland Road have given him the backing of the fans, and his willingness to utilise the youth produced by the Whites has made him a crowd favourite.
He will be given more time to turn around results in Yorkshire, and it could be this support which sees him turn things around, and finally lead the club up the Championship table - and back into the Premier League.