Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
HEAVEN OR ELL
Bowyer out to avoid drop at old club Leeds and join them in celebrating
CHARLTON manager Lee Bowyer is not expecting any gifts from former club Leeds tonight, despite buying one for opposite number Marcelo Bielsa.
The Addicks need a victory at Elland Road to confirm safety, but anything less may send them down.
Leeds have won the title and their former midfielder
Bowyer has bought a bottle of red wine to present to Bielsa as a congratulatory gesture.
But he hopes he can be celebrating alongside the
Argentine.
Bowyer said: “There’ll be no favours, we know that. They like me – but I don’t think they like me that much!
“Leeds will always have a special place in my heart, I still keep in contact with them. But they are professionals.
“I asked them what their manager drinks to buy him a celebration drink. They told me to get him a bottle of Malbec. Hopefully, he likes it. It’s the right thing to do, to give him a gift.
“It will be nice to stand beside Bielsa. I’ll be the proudest I’ve been as a manager if we can do it.
“Staying in the Championship will be far bigger than winning promotion due to what we’ve been through.”
Charlton have struggled with a host of off-the-field issues this season, but Bowyer is still confident.
He said: “It’s in our hands – nothing changes. If we win, we’re safe.
“The players have given me everything, I can’t ask for more.”
Leeds’ Championship title celebrations tonight will be thoroughly deserved, insists winger Ezgjan Alioski, because he says they were the best team from start to finish.
But Leeds fans have been urged not to repeat their city centre promotion party, as United lift the trophy behind closed doors at Elland Road.
North Macedonia star Alioski (above, with his team-mates) said: “We knew we’d come back stronger from last season – and we did it.
“We’ve shown that we are the best team from the beginning and we deserve this celebration.”
Cllr Mohammed Rafique, Leeds City Council’s executive member for environment and active lifestyles, said: “We know how important a return to the Premier League is for Leeds and there will be a desire to celebrate. But it is vital that people do not seek to replicate what we saw in
Millennium Square.”