Leeds have learned from hammering at Hawthorns

ADAM FORSHAW claims getting a battering by West Brom has been the catalyst for Leeds’ return to form.

Marcelo Bielsa (above) and his side are second in the Championship – one point behind leaders Norwich – thanks to a three-game winning run since their 4-1 drubbing at The Hawthorns.

Forshaw says they learnt the mistakes from that defeat when the Baggies punished them every time they lost possession.

The former Middlesbrough midfielder knows they were naive and is delighted by how well they have responded.

“It may be a blessing in disguise,” he said. “It was a bit of a hammering on the scoreline and I don’t think the game had shown that really. Going into the next batch of games we really learned from it.

“We locked out well when we had possession and it wasn’t as open. We’ve shown a lot of maturity in the last three games.”

Leeds are nicely positioned in the promotion race going into today’s clash with QPR at Elland Road, but Forshaw refuses to look too far ahead.

Forshaw, 27, who won promotion with Middlesbrough in 2016, knows Leeds have a long way to go yet before they can start dreaming of a return to the Premier League.

“We haven’t got half the points we need to go up automatically,” said the former Everton trainee.

“The next six games are massive and we’re going into them with momentum. But we’re not even halfway yet. We’ve had a good third to the season, but we can still improve.” Forshaw was heartened by Leeds’ gritty win over promotion rivals Sheffield United last Saturday as they registered their first victory at Bramall Lane since the day they clinched the title in 1992.

For once, Leeds did not enjoy the majority of possession and Forshaw believes it showed they can adapt.

“It was a different win,” he added. “We might not have won games like that in the past.

“We didn’t have the most possession, but you win however you can. It’s a points business.”