Stephen Warnock has urged Patrick Bamford to "be selfish" after he admitted that he was "not convinced" over the Leeds United striker's ability to lead the line for his former club.
Bamford found the back of the net for the 50th time as a White during the 5-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon. It was just his third goal in the Premier League this season in 13 starts.
Scoring twice in this season's FA Cup run has meant that Bamford has scored five times across all competitions for Leeds this term, but the 29-year-old would have no doubt hoped for a better return during a campaign hampered with fitness concerns earlier in the year.
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But Warnock has now admitted that he is not sold on whether or not Bamford has what it takes after watching his performance against Palace at Elland Road over the weekend.
“I’m not convinced with Bamford,” Warnock told Sky Sports. “I am not convinced with him. I watched some of his movements against Crystal Palace.
“He doesn’t get in goalscoring positions. He wants to link up on the edge of the box. I am thinking ‘Get between the goalposts, get yourself in the centre of the goal and get yourself on the end of things’.
“I think there are a lot of times where he is trying to make unselfish runs and I am thinking ‘be selfish’. You just mentioned players there, [Luis] Sinisterra, [Wilfried] Gnonto and Jack Harrison as well. Let them do the work in wide areas. You say to them ‘You do that work and provide for me’.
“Not so sure," Warnock Added when asked if Bamford's workrate was from the impact of Marcelo Bielsa's time as Leeds head coach. "I just think it’s his way. We don’t look at Patrick Bamford and say he is prolific, do we?! I think he had a great spell when there were no crowds in, but not now.”
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