'Will be key' - Rival manager pinpoints Leeds United strength his side lack in Championship promotion race
Scott Parker will be hoping to replace one of Leeds United or Sheffield United in the top two come May.
Burnley manager Scott Parker hopes his Championship promotion know-how can feed into a playing squad that lacks the same experience.
A few squad members were at Turf Moor for their previous promotion under Vincent Kompany - the likes of Josh Brownhill, Connor Roberts and Josh Cullen - but many are experiencing their first taste of a full 46-game Championship campaign. Forty-four-year-old Parker is still a young manager but vastly experienced in the second-tier, with two promotions under his belt as manager of Fulham and Bournemouth.
Leeds United and Sheffield United also have promotion experts in their dugout, with Daniel Farke leading Norwich into the Premier League twice while Chris Wilder has previously taken the Blades up. But the two Yorkshire teams also have plenty of Championship experience within the playing squad.
A large chunk of Leeds’ current crop were present for last season’s third-place finish and play-off final defeat, with hope they can lean on the experience of a dismal post-March international break run-in this time round. But all involved know the Championship can throw up the odd curveball and Parker is hoping to help his players through what will be a high-pressure period.
Scott Parker on Burnley and the promotion race
“I hope [it will help],” Parker told the Burnley Express of his own promotion race experience. “That is my main job really. So while this squad has some experience of being in this position, the majority have not. The majority of players here are young players, good players, very, very good players with big quality.
“But there are a lot of players that have probably not been at the back end of this division and what this division throws up. The sort of stability and the understanding of the dynamics of what this division brings and certainly what you need at this part of the season.
“I've been in this division twice now, and they're the same traits that are needed. They're the same things that keep coming up. That's probably right at the front of my mind when I'm obviously speaking to the group, the group understanding that, and that will be key.”
Leeds United’s promotion race experience
Alongside two-time title winner Farke, Leeds’ squad is littered with a few players who’ve won promotion in the past. Three current Whites were present under Marcelo Bielsa back in 2020, but only Illan Meslier had a significant role in both campaigns, having come in for Kiko Casilla for the final 10 games to help his side over the line last time round.
Patrick Bamford was first-choice striker and top-scorer the last time Leeds won promotion, but the 31-year-old’s influence has waned significantly this season amid a string of fitness issues. Centre-back Pascal Struijk has been heavily involved this time round but did not start under Bielsa until promotion was secured.
Elsewhere, Joe Rothwell was part of the Southampton side that pipped Leeds to promotion last season while Jayden Bogle went up with Sheffield United in 2023. Big dressing room influences like Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rodon and Junior Firpo all have the experience of the previous campaigns failures to lean on as well.
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