Leeds United skipper reveals reason for results blip and criticism team must avoid at QPR
Leeds United vice-captain Pascal Struijk says the Whites were ‘a little bit flat’ away at Portsmouth and versus West Bromwich Albion in recent weeks.
The defender spoke to reporters following Leeds' 2-0 win over Millwall on Wednesday night and reflected candidly on a minor blip in the Whites' campaign.
Leeds were beaten at Fratton Park and held to a 1-1 draw against West Bromwich Albion a week earlier but ensured they got back to winning ways by seeing off Alex Neil's side at Elland Road days ago.
"We wanted to show more energy, especially I thought the last game was a little bit flat," Struijk said after the victory in midweek. "There was moments in the West Brom game as well after we scored where we were a little bit flat. The energy, for sure, was one thing that we wanted to show tonight and I thought we did really well."
Back in the side alongside central defensive partner Joe Rodon, Struijk has played a major part in the volume of clean sheets Leeds have recorded this season. In club captain Ethan Ampadu's absence, the Dutchman has taken on leadership responsibility by skippering the team while the Wales international remains sidelined with a knee issue.
"We know where we want to be," Struijk added on Leeds' promotion aspirations. "We have nine more finals to go, we take it game-by-game and then hopefully we end up at the top."
Leeds visit Queens Park Rangers this weekend knowing they must put an end to their early kick-off hoodoo to remain top of the Championship table over the international break.
The team cannot afford to start in the manner they did at Portsmouth, nor can they be complacent in the event of going a goal up at Loftus Road.