Rio Ferdinand has warned his Leeds United that they are staring down the barrel of a "hard slog" as they try to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
Ferdinand was speaking in the wake of Leeds hard-fought defeat away at Leicester City in a clash that saw new manager Jesse Marsch in the dugout for the first time.
The American has been tasked with keeping Leeds afloat in the wake of Marcelo Bielsa's sacking last weekend and things got off to a poor start given they now sit just two points above the relegation zone.
While there were shoots of improvement for Marsch to cling on to, it was not enough to halt the rut as Harvey Barnes scored the only goal of the game for the Foxes.
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Leeds have just 11 games to go this season and have played at least one game more than the majority of the four sides currently below them in the table.
"I still think it’s a hard slog for them," Ferdinand told BT Sport when pressed for comment on the fight for Premier League survival.
"I think it’s going to between them and Brentford. I thought it was Burnley up until ten days ago now I’d say Brentford and Leeds are the two teams in the most danger to follow Norwich and Watford at this present moment in time."
The decision to part ways with a manager as beloved as Bielsa stemmed from the desperation to stay up and Ferdinand has explained how the Argentine's reluctance to tweak tactics got him the sack.
"I don’t think he was willing to [adapt]. I think Bielsa has built his reputation on a particular way of playing and that’s what he will live and die by.
"I think he’ll be very proud going out the way he did. He said: ‘this is me, you employ me for this way. That’s it and if it doesn’t work then you can make a decision.’"
Marsch will be desperate to put Saturday's defeat behind him and try to win over the Leeds faithful at the soonest possible opportunity.
Leeds welcome Aston Villa to Elland Road on Thursday night before what could prove to be a pivotal contest against another relegation-threatened side in Norwich City away from home.
Wins for the likes of Newcastle and Brentford on Saturday also ensure that the chances of Leeds finishing any higher than 16th in the league table appear to be unlikely.
