Gary Neville has heaped praise on Leeds United for handling the pressure situation of a final day relegation scrap. The Whites secured their safety in the season finale with a 2-1 victory at Brentford, moving ahead of Burnley who were beaten by Newcastle United.
Leeds went into the final day with destiny out of their own hands following Burnley’s 1-1 draw at Aston Villa on Thursday. Mike Jackson’s side knew that if they matched Leeds’ result on Sunday it would be them who survived, but ultimately it was the Whites who held their nerve.
Speaking on his podcast, Neville claimed that due to the financial implications of relegation, Leeds and Burnley were under more pressure than the sides at the top competing for the title. He was also quick to admit his surprise at Leeds coming away from Brentford with all three points after the Bees’ form in the second half of the season.
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He said: “No one thought Leeds would win at Brentford, it was improbable. But you’ve got to hand it to them, they’ve delivered a performance on the final day of the season under the most extreme pressure.
“Leeds and Burnley are under extreme pressure because we’ve talked about it before, it isn’t just sporting disappointment, Liverpool have sporting disappointment but can be proud. At the bottom the economic disappointment is devastating, watching what’s happening at Burnley now, a buy-out, leveraging £75m to be paid back very quickly and Leeds would’ve been in significant danger or trouble as well from finances side of things.
“That’s where the real pressure lay, I was never a part of it, I never want to be a part of it. Well done to Leeds, they’ve been a great asset to the Premier League the way they play particularly under Bielsa, they’re a big club.
“Burnley, Sean Dyche - who deserves a mention - kept Burnley in longer than you could have imagined with the resources, their wage bill. They sacked Sean Dyche with 10 games to go and it’s not worked out. It’ll be a sad town, you wonder when they’ll return.”
