Leeds United fans left Elland Road with a familiar feeling on Sunday afternoon after watching their side lose 2-0 to Manchester United. Once again they had seen United turn in a strong performance and play well but ultimately fail to add to their Premier League points tally.
The managerless Whites, under the temporary stewardship of Under-21s boss Michael Skubala, did a lot of things right against their bitterest of rivals. They held their shape well, frustrated their visitors' most creative and attacking outlets and got in behind on a semi-regular basis, but they couldn’t beat David de Gea in the Red Devils’ net and that leaves them vulnerable.
Everton, buoyed by the recent appointment of Sean Dyche, now have the chance to push Leeds into the bottom three with a result against Liverpool this evening and dial up the cause for concern at Elland Road. The hope, then, is that a new manager can inspire the Whites to finally start picking up the points they deserve and climb the table over the 16 league games remaining in the campaign.
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Leeds had hoped to move swiftly after dismissing Jesse Marsch last week, that was made clear by Andrea Radrizzani, who took to social media on Tuesday to declare his belief that something could be completed by Wednesday morning. However, Skubala has now spent a whole week in charge of the first team, while the speculation regarding Leeds’ new man rages on.
Former Ajax and Club Brugge boss Alfred Schreuder is the latest man in the frame, it seems, after he was spotted with Leeds representatives at the game on Sunday. Whether the Dutchman will be handed the reins remains to be seen, but Leeds will be pushing with a degree of urgency to make an appointment this week, that is for certain.
Whoever takes the hotseat at Elland Road, though, it’s clear they face a baptism of fire with three must-win games that can be seen as pivotal for the season ahead. Irrespective of tonight’s result at Anfield, next Saturday’s clash at Goodison Park with Everton is enormous.
Win that and the Whites will ensure they end Gameweek 24 outside the relegation zone, with something a fresh platform to build off moving forward. Leeds haven’t picked up a Premier League victory since Bonfire Night, but that would provide the boost they need in order to pull themselves out of danger.
Lose it and United will definitely be in the bottom three and that could have a damaging impact on the mentality in West Yorkshire. Indeed, if the Everton game is big, the following week's clash against bottom of the table Southampton, who are also managerless, looks absolutely gargantuan.
There can be absolutely no excuses for failing to beat the Saints at Elland Road and adding to their misery as they stare down the barrel of relegation to the Championship. The Whites then go to Fulham just a few days later as they look to stretch their FA Cup run to the quarter-finals.
The new manager, then, has a real chance to breathe life into Leeds' campaign within his first two weeks in the job, providing an appointment is made this week, of course. Hitting the ground running at Elland Road by finding success in three of the biggest games United will play this season would provide a huge shot in the arm to both the club’s survival hopes and their chances of ending their major silverware drought.
There’s huge amounts of pressure surrounding all three games, the two Premier League games in particular, but the next fortnight ought to be seen as an opportunity for the new man. If things don’t quite click straight away, though, there's a very real possibility that Leeds could find themselves propping up the league table.
It wouldn’t be an insurmountable gap above them, but it’s certainly not a position they want to find themselves in going into March, with fixtures against top half opponents on the horizon. Leeds will be striving to hire someone in the coming days, but the new coach cannot afford to waste a second as the Premier League survival race begins to boil down.
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