Missed chances could see you miss out on promotion, warns Neil
FERGIE TIME IS 5 MORE YEARS BOMB SQUAD IS BACK IN ACTION WE’VE STOPPED POTTERS ROT
PRESTON boss Alex Neil believes Leeds would be walking away with the Championship – if they could finish their chances.
Neil is a big admirer of the way second-placed Leeds play under Marcelo Bielsa.
Preston face the Yorkshire club tonight and the Scot claims his opponents’ poor conversion rate is their only weakness.
“Probably the one facet they would like to better at is the conversion of chances,” said Neil.
“They are No.1 for shots in the league. Leeds have more possession than most teams they play against. They are just a dangerous team.
“They get the ball back, they’re hungry, aggressive and just a good side in every aspect – apart from conversion of chances.
“I believe we are coming up against one of the best teams in the league. We know the quality they possess but as other teams have shown, they can be beaten – although it will be tough and we will have to be at our best.”
Preston are also riding high, but came unstuck at lowly Reading on Saturday with a shock 1-0 defeat.
Neil added: “The players will be glad there is a game to put it right. They don’t need telling. They know we played poor.”
Bielsa (inset) reckons his side must be more ruthless at set-pieces. Leeds have scored just 16 goals from their 12 league games, lower than their promotion rivals.
The Elland Road boss has long moaned about their lack of success at corners, having netted just once from their last 87 taken.
He wants this to improve – starting at Deepdale. “For a team like ours, that doesn’t have the ideal efficiency in scoring, converting setpieces would be really good,” he said.
West Brom Leeds Swansea Nottm Forest QPR Preston Charlton Sheff Wed Bristol City Fulham Cardiff Birmingham Brentford Blackburn Derby Luton Millwall Wigan Hull Reading Middlesbro Huddersfield Stoke Barnsley
WEST BROM hope to tie in-demand teenage defender Nathan Ferguson to a new five-year deal.
Ferguson has been a revelation at full-back for the Championship leaders.
The 19-year-old (right) is out of contract next summer and has
Premier League suitors, including Tottenham and
Crystal Palace. But Albion officials are optimistic he will pledge his long-term future to the club.
Ferguson will be in Slaven Bilic’s side in the top-v-bottom clash with Barnsley tonight, with the Croatian boss saying: “It’s about maintaining the momentum we have built up.”
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Patrick Bamford to score the first goal
MARK BOWEN is considering giving Chris Gunter and Garath McCleary their first Reading games of the season.
The pair were training with the youngsters as part of former boss Jose Gomes’ ‘bomb squad’ of outcasts.
But new manager Bowen has handed them a reprieve. They were close to being on the bench for Saturday’s win against Preston and could feature at QPR tonight. He said: “We need all hands on deck. Everybody is going to play a part as much as possible.”
NATHAN JONES has backed his Stoke players to continue their Championship climb at Hillsborough tonight. Jones (below) has been saved from the sack at the Potters by masterminding successive shock wins over Swansea and Fulham to rise from the foot of the table.
The Welshman said: “We always believed we were in a false position and we weren’t getting hammered. We’ve stopped making big errors. Now it’s just about getting a result against a good, seasoned side.
“There’s not been three wins on the trot here since 2016 so we want to change that bit of history.”