Leeds United star makes 'surprising' Sunderland promotion claim
A Leeds United defender has spoken out over Sunderland's current form.
Leeds United star Pascal Struijk has admitted Sunderland’s impressive rise to the top of the Championship table has caught him by surprise.
The Black Cats were not expected to challenge for the Championship title ahead of the season but a fine run of form under new head coach Regis Le Bris has taken them to the summit ahead of Saturday’s visit to Queens Park Rangers. For Leeds, the season was all about bouncing back from last season’s play-off final defeat against Southampton as a goal from former Newcastle United striker Adam Armstrong saw the Saints claim an immediate return to the Premier League.
After last weekend’s goalless draw at Bristol City, Leeds are currently sat five points adrift of the Black Cats - but Dutch centre-back Struijk has warned Le Bris and his players they will still have a number of challenges to overcome throughout a ‘long and very tough’ season.
He told BBC West Yorkshire Sport: "We always have high expectations. I am bit surprised by Sunderland, by the way. They have started really well. But this league is long and is very tough. It is about how we deal with the challenges throughout the season, like injuries at the moment and how we play through them and how we get success as a team.”
Leeds will be strong favourites to boost their own promotion push when they host a Plymouth Argyle side that have slipped to one point and one place above the relegation zone after winning just one of their last five games. Despite their visitors’ dismal form, Struijk has urged his Whites’ team-mates to be wary of the threat posted by Argyle forward Morgan Whittaker, who remained with the Pilgrims despite being linked with a move to Scottish giants Rangers during the summer transfer window.
He said: "I think we will dominate the ball most of the game and we will have to see what they do defensively. We will have to be aware of them on the counter attack and make sure we finish our chances. I know what he [Whittaker] likes to do and what he won't like as much. I know what his strengths are.
“Everybody will be dealing with him so we have to be ready because he has got a lot of attacking qualities. You saw last season that he had a lot of goal involvements. He is a good player and we need to be wary of that. We have to take control of him and the others."