Leeds will fear exodus of stars if they drop, but I believe they will find a way to stay up

DOMINIC MATTEO, PART OF THE UNITED TEAM RELEGATED IN 2004, ON THE TRAUMA AND REPERCUSSIONS OF DROPPING OUT OF THE PREM

Super Sunday, 4pm DOMINIC MATTEO knows what it feels like when the hurricane of relegation rips through a club.

He was part of the fire sale when Leeds last went down in 2004 and had to offload their best players to slash costs.

Matteo, now 48, was sold to Blackburn and followed through the Elland Road exit by stars like Alan Smith, Mark Viduka, Paul Robinson, James Milner and Danny Mills.

The former defender fears Leeds could lose their biggest names if they don’t beat the drop tomorrow, when they must better Burnley’s result or their two-year stint in the Premier League will be over.

Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips are attracting interest from the likes of Barcelona and Manchester City respectively, and Matteo believes they could go if Leeds are relegated.

The former Whites captain said: “If you’re being realistic, it could happen.

“You have to be realistic, if they were to go down or even if they stayed up in 17th, would a top player be happy with that?

“Regardless of whether Leeds stay up or not, they could lose players. That’s the nature of the beast.

“I’m sure there are other clubs interested in their best players because they’ve got some good talent there, even among the young players. If they were to lose Raphinha and Phillips, would more follow? That’s what happened in my era.”

United face Brentford away tomorrow while Burnley are at home to

Newcastle, and

Matteo says the tension will be unbearable for

Jesse Marsch’s men.

He still remembers the anxiety he felt before beating

Arsenal in 2003 to stay up, although it only postponed their fate for 12 months (Robinson and Smith, above).

“We were lucky to get out of it in 2003 with that late goal at Highbury,” he said. “That was a very similar feeling to what the players are going through at the moment.

“I couldn’t sleep the night before that game. I was up all night. You go over all the scenarios in your head, through every emotion before the game is even played.

“Even as an experienced player, I was still going through that. I will never forget that feeling of relief when we stayed up, but it was followed the following year by going down.

“It’s not a good memory, being relegated. You never want that on your CV, but it happened and, being honest, it was only when Leeds got back into the Premier League, that I felt right again.” Matteo still believes United can pull off an escape act at Burnley’s expense.

“I never thought I would be relegated at Leeds because we had a strong enough team,” he added. “But that means nothing, we know how brutal the Premier League is.

“Our experience showed that if you take your foot off the pedal in the Premier League, it just punishes you.

“We’ve seen that this season with Leeds and it’s been a difficult watch.

“When we stayed up in 2003, we just found a way to win and that’s what Leeds have got to do on Sunday, just find a way. I don’t know how, but they’ve got to find a way.

“I said at the start of the season that Burnley might go down and I’m sticking by that. Leeds might just survive.”