Joe Rodon takes personal swipe in Leeds United assessment with title declaration and team vow
Joe Rodon has given his verdict on Leeds United’s title win and the final day win at Plymouth.
Whites star Joe Rodon has delivered a beaming Leeds United title verdict despite a personal swipe in assessing the final day victory at Plymouth Argyle.
Leeds went into Saturday’s final day of the season having already sealed automatic promotion and knowing that a win against Plymouth would also seal the Championship title.
Daniel Farke’s Whites needed to match or better Burnley’s final day result at home to Millwall to secure the trophy but matters did not look good for Leeds when they fell 1-0 down at Home Park.
Plymouth dangerman Mustapha Bundu helped fire the hosts into an 18th-minute lead as his strike forced a Sam Byram own goal after the Plymouth star had got past Rodon to send in his shot which cannoned off the post and then Byram before crossing the line.
Speaking post match to LUTV, Rodon took a swipe at his own part in the Plymouth goal - admitting his defending had been “s**t”.
The defender joked that an accidental elbow to the nose from teammate Ao Tanaka then woke him up as Leeds too recovered to seal a title-winning 2-1 success.
That was only made possibly by Manor Solomon’s 91st-minute winner but Rodon declared that he wouldn’t have had it any other way as he also vowed again that his team would always fight until the end.
“I wouldn't choose to do it any other way”...
"For me it still hasn't sunk in what just happened,” said Rodon post match to LUTV.
"It's all a blur to me. But I know we want to try and make it as easy as possible and things like this but I wouldn't choose to do it any other way like that.
"It was a moment I'll never forget, it was incredible and I'm so happy for everyone involved - the club, the fans, everything, what a day, amazing.
"In the last six games the pressure was on us, we had a lot of draws.
"It's not what we planned obviously, sometimes this is football, it goes this way.
"But six wins in a row, to do it like that and to come here today and to be fair to them they went right to the very end.
"Like we have all done season, I said, this team, we never give up, we keep going and going and we got our reward at the end of it."
Asked as he appeared a bit wounded if he took another knock on his nose, Rodon said: “No, to be fair, excuse my language but I was sh*t for the first goal so Ao gave me a little elbow to wake me up and I thought I was better from there on!"