Leeds United have been praised for soldiering on with a depleted squad at a time when postponements are rife in the Premier League.
The Whites clinched a crucial 3-2 away win against West Ham United despite having a number of key figures unavailable on the same weekend Arsenal requested the postponement of their derby clash with Tottenham Hotspur.
Diego Llorente, Liam Cooper, Charlie Cresswell, Jamie Shackleton, Kalvin Phillips, Tyler Roberts, Joe Gelhardt, Sam Greenwood and Patrick Bamford were all unavailable to Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa, forcing him to name an extremely youthful bench.
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Sky Sports pundit Micah Richards has insisted Leeds must be applauded for their willingness to play in spite of their absence crisis and admitted he admires Bielsa's side.
Speaking on Sky Sports as part of their coverage of the game, Richards said: "They’ve struggled with injuries all season. You don’t want to see games called off that’s not what we’re trying to say but with what they’ve got out today of course (they’d be entitled to request postponement), if you look at what they’ve got on the bench they’re all teenagers besides from Rodrigo so they would, but some teams just want to get on with the game.
"So, you’ve got to applaud them for that but you’ve also got to understand why teams have applied to get games called off but I admire them, I love Bielsa. I think he’s straight talking even though he’s got a translator there!
"He’s never really moaning about things he takes responsibility. His side play good football, sometimes they take too many risks when they lose it’s not by one or two it’s four and five at times."
At 30, Rodrigo was the oldest player on the bench by nearly a decade as 21-year-old Kristoffer Klaesson was the only other substitute to have completed his teenage years.
There was also a spot in the squad for 15-year-old Archie Gray, the relative of Eddie, Frank and Andy Gray stirring up excitement in the youth ranks at Thorp Arch.
Two of the teenagers, Leo Hjelde and Lewis Bate, were called upon in the first-half when Junior Firpo and Adam Forshaw were forced out of the action.
The win moved Leeds beyond Everton and into 15th in the Premier League table, widening the gap between the Whites and the relegation zone to nine points.
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