Former Leeds United striker Noel Whelan has defended under-fire head coach Garry Monk, stressing the need to give the club some much needed stability.
The Whites were subjected to their third loss in five league matches, as hosts Nottingham Forest beat them 3-1 at the City Ground this weekend.
The loss puts the Peacocks in a precarious position, currently placed one place above the relegation zone with only goal difference separating them from Rotherham United, placed in the bottom three.
Reports have already suggested that chairman Massimo Cellino is rapidly losing faith in his head coach and is considering whether to sack the former Swansea boss.
Whelan though believes that Monk needs time as he tries to recover from the initial setbacks and tries to bounce back to win back-to-back matches and move up the ladder.
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"You've got to give Garry Monk time as Leeds United head coach", Whelan wrote in his coumn for Yorkshire Evening Post.
"That’s the one thing that you have got to have from the club."
Having closely observed their play over the course of the last week, the 41-year-old insisted that his former side should have won the match against Nottingham Forest.
"The club needs stability, he needs the time there and at the end of the day, when we looked at the team before Saturday’s game it was a strong side which we thought could come to Nottingham Forest and get the three points.
"They missed a trick on Saturday because Nottingham Forest were there for the taking."
