Former Leeds United and Middlesbrough forward John Hendrie has heaped praise on the youngsters that have come through the ranks of the Elland Road outfit, as they prepare to take on Boro in a league clash on Sunday.
Middlesbrough are currently second in the league table with a haul of 17 points from their first eight games and are currently on a four-game winning streak in the league as they prepare to host Leeds at the Riverside Stadium.
Leeds, on the other hand, are tenth in the table with 11 points from their eight games. They head into this weekend’s clash on the back of a 2-1 win over MK Dons.
Hendrie feels that Uwe Rosler’s side draw strength from their young players, who have come through the ranks and have become integral members of the first team at Elland Road.
“The strongest thing about Leeds is the young players that have come through the ranks”, he was quoted as saying by the Middlesbrough website.
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“They’ve been absolutely fantastic.
“The likes of Lewis Cook, Charlie Taylor and Alex Mowatt – those three have been different class and I think that’s why the fans have been supportive.
“They’ve given the young boys an opportunity and they’ve grabbed that chance.”
Leeds did the double over Aitor Karanka’s side last term, but Hendrie feels that Middlesbrough will have the upper hand on Sunday.
“Rosler’s teams always play at a high tempo, but they’ll certainly be underdogs because everyone fancies Boro this year.
“Knowing Rosler he’ll tell the players that they have nothing to lose and they’re live on Sky so he’ll tell them to give it a good go.”
