LEEDS BOSS: THIS KID’S A ROY WONDER
FA Cup 3rd round: Tomorrow, 12noon THOMAS CHRISTIANSEN wants the Leeds boo boys to lay off striker Jay-roy Grot.
The £1.5million teenager checked in at Elland Road from Nijmegen last summer with a reputation as one of Holland’s top young talents.
But demanding Whites fans reckon Grot’s form is pretty grotty after he has failed to score in 15 appearances for the Yorkshire club.
But head coach Christiansen is backing the 19-year-old to come good – with help from the crowd.
Grot (above) gets another chance to win over the critics in tomorrow’s FA Cup third-round tie at League 2 Newport.
And Christiansen insisted: ”I have complete faith in Jay-roy because I can see he is without question a young player who possesses real quality.
“It has been hard for him to show that quality since he came here, but his time will surely come.
“More than anything else he needs his confidence to be boosted and we know that is something we have to work on.
“The staff here will do that, but it is also really important for his development that the fans get behind him.
“If they do that, it will help speed up the process to make him realise his full potential.”
While Christiansen understands that promotion is the top priority for Leeds this season, he would like to savour the magic of the FA Cup for as many rounds as he can.
Christiansen (below) added: ”I would like us to go far in this competition because the longer you are in it, the better the chance you have of getting a dream tie against Manchester United or Chelsea.
“On the other hand, no one wants to suffer the embarrassment of going out to a lower league team.
“This can happen, but that I guess is the beauty of the Cup.
“We have got to be prepared and we have to put it in the mind of our players that this is a serious game against Newport.”
Josh Sheehan is set to be parachuted into Newport’s game against Leeds to provide the perfect ending to 10 months of injury hell. The Wales Under-21 midfielder is heading back to Rodney Parade for a second loan spell from Swansea, having recovering from knee surgery that kept him sidelined from March last year.
Now he could find himself figuring in the club’s biggest game of the season as County boss Michael Flynn chases a £90,000 jackpot for reaching the fourth round.
“I really enjoyed my time at Newport and I was having a good season there before it was sadly cut short,” said Sheehan.
“I have been training with the under-23s for the last few weeks. I feel back and ready to go and believe I can come back as a player who is bigger, faster and stronger.”