Don Goodman issues Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton warning to Leeds United ahead of the summer window | OneFootball

Highlights

Don Goodman has warned Leeds United to learn from the mistakes of Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton Town.

The three clubs that gained promotion from the Championship last season are all now in danger of coming straight back down.

United and Burnley are both likely to return to the second division, but the Hatters still have a fighting chance of remaining in the top flight.

Leeds are looking to go in the opposite direction, with Daniel Farke’s side pushing for promotion straight back to the first division after going down last year.

The Whites have just a few games left to earn an automatic promotion place, but face competition from Leicester City and Ipswich Town.

Goodman has identified defence as one area where Farke’s side will need to improve over the summer.

He has highlighted the poor defensive record of Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton as one of the key reasons why they are in relegation danger.

“They need that solid platform,” said Goodman, via Leeds MOT News.

“Most of the teams that go up automatically tend to have the best defensive record, or certainly in the top three or four. Ipswich have been the outlier this season in every way.

“They have pretty much the same defence they had in League One and that tells in the number of goals they have conceded over the season. I think, off the top of my head, only Watford have finished in the top two – possibly Norwich as well – conceding that number of goals.

"It’s nearly in the 30s that teams who finish in the top two conceded. You’d be flabbergasted if Leeds’ goals against tally reaches 40 before the season ends.

"So investing in a defender and remaining solid, whatever league you're in, is key. I often point this out that when a club moves from one level up to the next, defenders often struggle more than any other section of the team.

"They are up against forwards who are quicker, stronger, cleverer and more ruthless. It doesn’t matter what level, but you only have to look at the Premier League to see who has the three worst defences: Burnley, Sheffield United and Luton Town.

“Defences will struggle at the higher level. So it surprises me when teams don’t focus on recruiting and paying more money for the best defenders to give them a solid base when they go up.”

Leeds are sure of a play-off place, but they would obviously prefer to earn an automatic place back in the Premier League.

They face competition from Ipswich and Leicester, and one side will have to settle for a play-off battle, which may not guarantee promotion to the top flight.

Defeat to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday afternoon dented their chances of a top two position, with Farke's side stuck in third with just three games remaining.

The likes of Southampton, West Brom and Norwich City all await in the promotion shoot-out, which could prove very tricky for whichever team finishes third.

The Yorkshire outfit will face Middlesbrough, QPR and Southampton in their final three games to determine their fate.

Defence will be key for Leeds in the Premier League

During Farke’s time in the Premier League with Norwich, his side were quite poor at the back, conceding 75 times in the 2019-20 season.

That made it very difficult for them to stay up, leading to a 20th place finish.

The German will need to work hard on that over the summer to ensure his team isn’t as leaky at the back, if promotion is secured.

Signing Joe Rodon on a permanent basis will be important, given how crucial he has been to the team’s good record this year.

But further reinforcement may also be needed in order to prepare for the step up in level that the top flight represents.