Leeds United man issues 'no doubt' verdict on biggest question facing Premier League new boys

Ilia Gruev has now had three very different experiences in his first ever trio of games in the English top flight. The 25-year-old, whose previous elite level involvement came in the form of 33 Bundesliga appearances, came off the bench shortly before Leeds' late winner against Everton then got his first Premier League start in a chastening 5-0 beating by Arsenal. His place in the team came under fierce scrutiny but a combination of Daniel Farke's backing and the injuries to Ethan Ampadu and Ao Tanaka allowed him to go again when Newcastle United visited Elland Road. His performance was solid, if unspectacular, but that was what was required of him against a supremely talented Magpies midfield.

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Gruev's display in the 0-0 draw was a fairly accurate summation of Leeds in their two home games. Competitive and physical enough to reassure - only Sean Longstaff made more tackles than the Bulgarian - but still lacking a little going forward. Creativity is not generally Gruev's game, he gives Farke legs, workrate and tidiness. But there were a couple of nice passes and he was everywhere, as a now infamous heat map will attest. The timing of Leeds' boast post, on a deflating deadline day, was highly questionable but you could not have asked much more of Gruev in terms of his coverage of the Elland Road pitch.

It was vital for him and Leeds to prove they could cope against a Champions League outfit, having come undone at The Emirates and then been humbled in the Carabao Cup by Sheffield Wednesday's kids. He admits a response was required but insists the external criticism was not so much of a driving factor going into the Newcastle game.

"Of course, we handled it in the locker room by ourselves," he said. "But I don't read so much media, to be honest. I try to keep it away. Also, if you play good or if you play bad, I think it's always important for yourself to analyse the game, because there are also some games where maybe you play good, but you lose, and then it's a lot of criticism. And there are also some games where maybe you win, but the game is okay, and you always have to look at the performance. Of course, the most important thing is to win. It's the most important thing. But we handled [the situation] really good. We know what to do. And I think you could see that [against Newcastle]."

For Gruev, the performance in the draw was evidence that the Leeds squad were not still rattled by what happened to them at the hands of the Gunners or the Owls.

He said: "I think it was very mature from us. I think we have good chances. We could also even create more chances. I think how we pressed and our intensity was on a really high level, against a really good team who play in the Champions League. And I think we can be pleased with it. Of course, we want to win, but I think it's a very solid and good performance at home.

"It was important for us [to respond]. But you know that sometimes in this league, you will travel somewhere against a really good opponent, and these things can happen. We conceded two goals from a corner kick in London against Arsenal, one penalty. It was tough for us, of course, but you know this is going to happen. I think it shows mentality that you come out, and I don't think that anybody, fans or journalists or whoever can see on the pitch that we don't play with confidence, or we are scared of anything. I think we played with courage and with this self belief. And I think you can see this from the first minute to the 90th minute, how also offensive we play, and we want to win the ball really high. And I think in this term, we did a really good game."

Winning the ball back quickly and preferably as high up the pitch as possible will be key to Leeds United's chances of survival this season. In their recruitment this summer they specifically targeted players with attributes that would naturally lend themselves to counter attacking. Getting Ampadu back into the midfield as soon as possible is going to be important but the way Longstaff smashed into his former team-mates laid down the standard. This is how aggressive Leeds need to be. That kind of intensity is one way in which they can prove they belong.

"These two games at home, we didn't concede one goal, we won four points against Everton and a Champions League team," he said. "So in general, I would say it's a good, solid start from us, and we want to continue like this. And I think we are capable of playing in the Premier League. Of course, it's only three game days. We have to show this for 38 games. So it's a long way to go, and we have to stay on the ground, work hard and keep going in what we are doing. But also you can have self confidence, I think, because we deserve it now after these three games, and we have to keep going like this."

They also need to start scoring goals from open play. Dominance against Everton did not translate in the scoreline and it took Lukas Nmecha's late spot-kick to decide that game. They had little joy against Arsenal beyond a set-piece header from Pascal Struijk that should have hit the net. And there were promising moments against Newcastle that fell down in the final third. It is the criticism that will linger over the recruitment work this summer and the question mark the squad must somehow answer. Gruev believes they will.

"Of course we want to score more goals," said Gruev. "I think against Everton we could score more, today we could score more.I think maybe it was the second to last pass which was a little bit missing. And to be more mature in these things. But this will come. There's no doubt about it. This will come if we win the ball like today, so high, the way to their goal is really short. And this will come. We will work on it. We will train hard to get better in these terms and it will come. I have no doubt."