Former Leeds United defender Ian Harte admits he can't understand how the Whites are in this position after such a bright start to the season. The Whites beat Wolves and Chelsea under Jesse Marsch but plummeted down the table, costing Marsch his job in early February.
Defeat to Nottingham Forest saw the Whites part ways with the American head coach, appointing Javi Gracia until the end of the season after being turned down by a number of targets. Again, Gracia started brightly with a win over Southampton, but a dismal run of results against relegation rivals saw Leeds roll the dice one last time and appoint Sam Allardyce for the final four games of the season.
“I'm not really sure why they’re in this position because they started the season brightly with wins over Wolves and Chelsea," Harte told FourFourTwo via Freebets.com. "But they’ve only won seven games all season.
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“When you look at that group of players and how well they backed Jesse Marsch at the start of the season, I’m shocked that they’re in a relegation battle.
“Jesse gets the sack and Javi Gracia comes in. When you look at that decision now, it probably would have been better if they had brought in Sam Allardyce earlier to give him a bit more time to try and help the team, alongside Robbie Keane and Karl Robinson.
“To find themselves with one game to go needing to win and hope that Leicester and Everton don't get results, is far from ideal.
“I think Everton will get a result if I'm being honest. Everton are home to Bournemouth who are now safe, so I do think they will get the win.”
Liam Cooper is one of a number of Leeds United players to have missed a large part of the season with injury and Harte believes that's played a part in the Whites' downfall. “Liam Cooper has been massively missed, because he does speak to the lads during games," he said.
"I just think that certain players cannot deal with the pressure, especially at Elland Road because Leeds fans are the best fans in the world. Naturally they will voice their opinion if things aren't going right, and I think certain players have gone into their shells.”
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