Jack Harrison shares how Leeds players are reacting to Sam Allardyce’s presence

Fri 5 May 2023 18:15, UK

Leeds United have turned to Sam Allardyce for their final four games of what has been a dismal season.

The Whites began the season with optimism, which increased following their outstanding 3-0 win over Chelsea.

However, things haven’t gone to plan at Elland Road since then, to put it mildly.

Leeds began the season with Jesse Marsch before sacking him and replacing him with caretaker Michael Skubala.

Javi Gracia then took the reins until the end of the season. He too has now left Elland Road as Leeds’ form deteriorated.

Now, it’s up to Allardyce to try to keep Leeds above the bottom three come the evening of Sunday 28 May.

However, the fixture list hasn’t been kind to the Elland Road outfit.

Up next for the Whites is Saturday afternoon’s trip to Manchester City.

On the plus side, it looks as though Allardyce’s arrival has given the Leeds squad a boost.

Jack Harrison spoke to on Thursday about the impact Allardyce has already made on the players.

He said: “His natural charisma and characteristics, and of his staff, brings a lot of energy into the training sessions and even in the building.

“It’s given a little bit of lift to the team and even just having that presence has given us a bit of confidence.”

Harrison also said: “It was clear to him we weren’t playing with confidence. That was the first thing he wanted to address.

“The other thing is tactically being organised, defending, and not conceding as many goals.

“Those were the first two things he said and we stripped everything back to basics.

“He has a great reputation of keeping teams in the Premier League. We’re all going to buy into it and give it everything we’ve got.”

Our view

On the surface, it looks like a desperate gamble in order to secure Premier League safety.

Indeed, the of Gary Neville have already started criticising Leeds for their decision to appoint Allardyce.

However, it’s worth remembering Crystal Palace got the same when they brought in Roy Hodgson.

Look at them now. They’re 11th in the table on 40 points, 10 above the drop zone with four games to go.

Leeds have obviously left it a bit late, but if Allardyce keeps them up, it’ll certainly shut a lot of people up.

It’s great to hear Harrison praise the new manager’s impact in terms of the players’ confidence.

Leeds have four cup finals ahead of them and if Allardyce can drag them by the scruff of the neck to safety, that’s all that matters.

Then, in the summer, the Whites would be able to properly regroup and get a long-term manager. It really isn’t that deep.