Gus Poyet highlights Leeds United concern as Leicester, Ipswich & Southampton race reaches conclusion | OneFootball

Leeds United will be concerned that they have not yet taken advantage of other teams slip-ups to pull clear in the Championship automatic promotion race with Leicester City, Ipswich Town, and Southampton.

That's according to former Whites favourite Gus Poyet, who believes that there will be more drama in the battle for automatic promotion between now and the end of the season.

Leeds were one of the teams relegated from the Premier League at the end of the previous campaign.

But while they have challenged for an immediate return to the top flight of English football throughout the current campaign, they are yet to firmly secure one of those top two spots for themselves.

That is something that they have certainly not helped themselves with, thanks to some of their recent results.

Leeds missing chances in promotion race

On Saturday, Daniel Farke's side were beaten 1-0 by relegation-threatened Blackburn Rovers at Elland Road.

That defeat meant the Whites failed to take advantage of a loss for promotion rivals Leicester City away at another struggling side, Plymouth Argyle on Friday night, a result that extended the Foxes' own struggles.

As a result, Leeds have now won just one of their last five games. Such a run means they sit third in the table, two points behind league leaders Ipswich Town, and one behind Leicester.

Southampton, meanwhile, are six points behind Leeds, but do have two games in hand.

Consequently, some more positive results for Farke's team in those recent outings could have seen them pull clear in the race for a place in the Premier League.

Now, Poyet believes that the fact they have not taken those chances may be weighing on the minds of some of those at Elland Road.

With just a handful of games remaining in the regular season, the battle for automatic promotion does look set for a dramatic conclusion.

That may not have been the case for Leeds had they made their dominance pay in recent matches, which Poyet believes will be a source of frustration for those at Elland Road.

Speaking exclusively to Football League World, via Casinoohneoasis, Poyet said: "They have missed chances to take the lead and push on. It will be a concern as they head into the final few games that they could have had matters in their own hands.

"I do think there are more twists and Leeds can get the job done. They need to perform at the level they did earlier in 2024 and get an automatic spot."

Next up for Leeds is a trip to The Riverside Stadium to face Middlesbrough on Monday night, in front of the Sky Sports cameras.

Pressure building on Leeds

It is hard not to feel as though recent results are going to be a concern for Leeds.

In their last two games, at home to Sunderland and then Blackburn, the Whites will feel as though they did enough to take maximum points from both.

So to only get one point from a possible six in those games may well raise some internal questions about whether they can find a way to get the results they need for promotion.

Indeed, the atmosphere at Elland Road against Blackburn on Saturday was one of tension, with everyone inside the ground well aware of the significance of the game.

The fact that Leeds were not able to find a way to cope with that does put the pressure on for these final games.

Meanwhile, the frustration of not being able to take advantage of those poor results for the likes of Leicester, may not help the feeling around Farke's squad either.

All of that ought to combine to make for a dramatic end to the season that as Poyet says, could still swing in a few different directions, both for Leeds and others.