Ilia Gruev: ‘Losing at Wembley hurt, but I will achieve something at Leeds’ — The Athletic 19/7/24
By Nancy Froston
Ilia Gruev needed to show patience last season and in the
end, he was rewarded.
After a relatively low-key arrival in the final 24 hours of
the summer transfer window on a permanent move from Werder Bremen, the
24-year-old Bulgaria international had to wait two months before an extended
run in the team.
Once he was handed his chance under Daniel Farke — when
preferred No 6 Ethan Ampadu dropped into centre-back to cover injuries — Gruev
soon made the position his own. He was so effective that talk of interest this
summer from Borussia Dortmund among other clubs sparked fear among regulars at
Elland Road that they could lose a real gem in the starting XI. But after
heartbreak in the Championship play-off final and a good rest, Gruev is back
and determined to make the new season at Leeds a success.
“The first two weeks, it hurt after the final,” he says in
an exclusive interview with The Athletic. “You don’t want to think much about
football so you try to do something else. But then when it’s week three or
four, you start to work hard and you want to come back to see your team-mates,
play football, and you want to start again. I want to do something, show myself
and achieve something with this team.
“We met the day after the final and it was devastating and
hard. But it was important, too. The boss said that it was a bad feeling but
that’s football and we have to learn from it. He told us to go home, do what we
want but, when we return for pre-season, we’re starting again and we have to
forget about it.
“We’ve started with a new energy and that’s the good thing
about football, you can change things very fast and forget about it because
football is a daily thing. When you have a group together, it doesn’t matter if
you don’t get promoted, these things help you grow together.”
While several players from last season’s squad have moved
on, including regular starters Archie Gray and Glen Kamara, those who remain
are largely a group of young and talented players, a year wiser to the demands
of the Championship as they target promotion.
Gruev showed maturity when waiting for his chance to impress
Farke in his preferred position in central midfield and made the most of it
with a sustained run of 33 appearances from late October onwards.
“You have to be a bit realistic,” Gruev says. “In the
beginning, the team played well, Ethan was playing well in my position and
everything was going OK, so I knew I had to wait. I am quite a realistic person
and I know how the business works.
“I spoke to the boss, he was very open, we talked and he
asked me to be patient. He told me that when my chance came, I had to be ready
to show what I could do. Football is sometimes like that, you have to be
patient and it’s important that in those weeks or months, you work hard. When
the chance is there if you haven’t worked hard, maybe you won’t use it.
“You have to be professional. The boss is not somebody who
has to motivate you every day or tell you what to do every day. You have to
work hard and show that you want to help the team and approach every day with
good performances on the pitch. We are all professionals and at an age where
you have to be there (at the level) because nobody will wait for you. You have
to take action and perform.”
Ever the pragmatist, Gruev knows that despite his efforts of
last season there will be competition again — likely with Ampadu — for the No 6
spot again. The deep-lying role is where he has spent “95 per cent” of his
career and if there was one criticism to be levelled at him last season, it is
that he was unable to contribute more goals — not that Gruev needs telling.
“I know exactly what I need to do (as a No 6),” he says.
“It’s nice because you have to take responsibility in the position, you have to
talk a lot and help team-mates to organise. It suits me well. My dad (former
Bulgaria international Iliya Gruev) was more offensive. He often jokes that he
was a lot more dangerous in front of the goal than me. He was a very big
influence.
“I talk to him almost every day, not only about football but
also life and other things. He watches as many games as he can and after, we
will talk about the game. It’s always nice to have a person who can help you
with small things. He’s not hard with me — when I have a poor day, he will be
honest, which helps me. But I know how I played, I’m will not say that I played
well when I played badly.
“In football, it’s normal to have good competition. It means
we have to train well to perform well but we are a team, so I’m not thinking I
need to compete against Ethan. It’s important that in training there’s a lot of
quality and this helps everyone.”
With pre-season underway, which Gruev describes as “intense”
in its early stages, Leeds are preparing for their first friendly against
League Two’s Harrogate Town before a trip to Germany for a training camp and
more behind-closed-doors games.
More signings will affect the final shape of Farke’s squad
but those with the memory of losing to Southampton at Wembley seared into their
brains are keen to get the job done by achieving automatic promotion with a
top-two finish this time around.
“I don’t expect it to be like last year with the four teams
who had so many points,” Gruev says. “But I expect tough matches, it’s not
going to be easy again. We have our goals and our games and we have to focus on
ourselves. We know what the league is, I played my first year in the league
last year, so I know the league better now. So do a lot of players in the team
and this will help us.