Leeds United given Burnley warning in Premier League promotion claim | OneFootball

Leeds United are continuing to fly high at the top end of the Championship as we reach a period where the division begins to take shape for the final months of the campaign.

After what was a frustrating away draw with lowly Rotherham United on November 24th in front of the Sky TV cameras, Daniel Farke's men continued their remarkable run of seven consecutive victories at Elland Road, with a 3-1 victory over Swansea City last Wednesday prior to another thrilling contest against Middlesbrough, which the Whites emerged 3-2 victors from.

Farke's side are also the only side in the division yet to lose on home turf, having accumulated 27 of their 38 points in West Yorkshire, with strong home form an imperative factor in any successful side.

The phrase "don't fall in love with a loan player" has often been thrown around plenty of EFL clubs in recent years, but in this case, the former Leeds loanee Brett Ormerod is still in awe that he was given the opportunity to pull on the famous White shirt back in 2004.

Despite only featuring six times for the club after their last relegation from the Premier League 19 years ago, the Blackburn-born former forward has made his stance clear about Leeds compared to the ten other professional sides he featured for across his career.

"They're a massive club. I had a loan spell there which didn't go too well. I came back from injury, was ill and missed a penalty on debut while also splitting my head open. We also got beat against Sunderland on Sky too!" The 47-year-old told Stocklytics.

"I was only there for a month but what a club they are. They're the biggest club I played for in my career. When you walk around Blackburn where I'm from, you see Man United and Man City tops everywhere. In Leeds, you only see Leeds shirts." He added.

Compared to United's title-winning side of 2019/20, the current crop of Leeds players find themselves just two points behind the tally Marcelo Bielsa's side managed to accumulate after the same number of games (19), but as a result of Leicester City and Ipswich Town setting a ridiculous pace in the automatic promotion spots, Farke's men still have to make up seven points to catch the two in front.

However, they have more than proven their credentials in the promotion race, having won at both the King Power Stadium and Portman Road.

Ormerod believes that Leeds have a strong chance of achieving promotion back to the top-flight, but didn't specify whether it will come through the automatic promotion places or the stress of the play-offs, which he won with Blackpool back in 2010.

"I think Leeds have a good chance of getting promoted this year.

"They're a massive club with a great fanbase and I really do hope they get promoted. I was gutted to see them get relegated because they seemed to turn a corner under Marcelo Bielsa." Ormerod continued.

However, he added that if promotion was achieved, the gap between the established top-flight sides and those who are newly-promoted is ever-increasing, which has been demonstrated by Burnley and Sheffield United's struggles this season.

"The problem is, the gap between the Premier League is bigger than ever before. Last year, Burnley walked the Championship as much as I've ever seen from any club who's dropped down and I'm talking about the likes of Aston Villa, Newcastle and those teams who've been in the second tier.

"Burnley were outstanding last season and now they're struggling like mad. They're playing well but they get punished for mistakes that go unnoticed in the Championship." He concluded.

What next for Leeds United?

Leeds must look to improve their away form if they are to maintain their position at the top of the play-off places before closing the gap on the top two, having been inconsistent on the road.

Their next outing is away to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday, December 9th.