Typical end of season game - Redfearn reflects on Rotherham match
leedsunited.com 2/5/15
United head coach Neil Redfearn was happy to come away from the final game of the 2014/15 campaign with a point against Rotherham, admitting it was "not an easy game to watch".
Despite a crowd of just under 32,000 at Elland Road, the highest of the term, the game was a typical end-of-season affair with both sides having little to cheer about.
Rodolph Austin came closest to grabbing a winner with efforts from range as United dominated possession in the second half, but there proved to be no way through as the curtain was drawn on another season.
"Today was not an easy game to watch on the eye, but that’s the Championship. I said that to the lads afterwards," said Redfearn.
"You’re going to come across teams like Rotherham more often than not in the Championship and you’ve got to tough it out.
"You’ve got to get across the line and get a result. That’s a point to back up the three away from home.
"With the bigger scheme of things, it’s been a season where we’ve turned our fortunes round a little bit.
"But the ideal scenario, for a club the size of Leeds United, we’ve got to be challenging at the other end of the table.
"If we’re going to do anything, that’s the positive attitude we’ve got to go into next season with."
Reflecting back on the season, Redfearn feels he achieved what he set out to do – keeping the team in the division – and says that it has given the club a platform to build on.
"I think, with what I was put into, it was more of a rescue mission,” he said. "We were a point off the drop and we had to get ourselves out of trouble.
"We’ve done that, comfortably. There have been a lot of things that have happened off the field when we were on a good run.
"We’re trying to build and we’re trying to put things in place. We’ve integrated all the lads and a lot of these young players.
"That’s important because if you’re going to build something and it’s going to be sustainable, then you’ve got to do it with young players.
"We’ve done that. It’s been a tough season and a frustrating season at times.
"But, from the position that we were in, and maybe how the squad was looking at the beginning of the season, with the young players coming in now it doesn’t resemble that now.
"It’s a much younger squad. It’s more vibrant and I think this team understands the Championship a lot more from the start of the season."
United head coach Neil Redfearn was happy to come away from the final game of the 2014/15 campaign with a point against Rotherham, admitting it was "not an easy game to watch".
Despite a crowd of just under 32,000 at Elland Road, the highest of the term, the game was a typical end-of-season affair with both sides having little to cheer about.
Rodolph Austin came closest to grabbing a winner with efforts from range as United dominated possession in the second half, but there proved to be no way through as the curtain was drawn on another season.
"Today was not an easy game to watch on the eye, but that’s the Championship. I said that to the lads afterwards," said Redfearn.
"You’re going to come across teams like Rotherham more often than not in the Championship and you’ve got to tough it out.
"You’ve got to get across the line and get a result. That’s a point to back up the three away from home.
"With the bigger scheme of things, it’s been a season where we’ve turned our fortunes round a little bit.
"But the ideal scenario, for a club the size of Leeds United, we’ve got to be challenging at the other end of the table.
"If we’re going to do anything, that’s the positive attitude we’ve got to go into next season with."
Reflecting back on the season, Redfearn feels he achieved what he set out to do – keeping the team in the division – and says that it has given the club a platform to build on.
"I think, with what I was put into, it was more of a rescue mission,” he said. "We were a point off the drop and we had to get ourselves out of trouble.
"We’ve done that, comfortably. There have been a lot of things that have happened off the field when we were on a good run.
"We’re trying to build and we’re trying to put things in place. We’ve integrated all the lads and a lot of these young players.
"That’s important because if you’re going to build something and it’s going to be sustainable, then you’ve got to do it with young players.
"We’ve done that. It’s been a tough season and a frustrating season at times.
"But, from the position that we were in, and maybe how the squad was looking at the beginning of the season, with the young players coming in now it doesn’t resemble that now.
"It’s a much younger squad. It’s more vibrant and I think this team understands the Championship a lot more from the start of the season."