Former Leeds United star Andy Ritchie is not ruling out the possibility of the Whites finishing second in the Championship this season and thus gaining automatic promotion to the Premier League, due to the players being so hungry for success.
Garry Monk’s team, who beat Derby County 1-0 last Friday, are unbeaten in their last seven outings in all competitions, winning six of those.
Leeds presently find themselves third in the Championship table with 48 points from 26 matches, seven behind leaders Newcastle United and six adrift of second-placed Brighton & Hove Albion, who have a game in hand.
And Ritchie, who believes Leeds are “sure bets” to finish in a playoff spot in the present campaign, feels the Yorkshire giants may even be automatically promoted back to the top tier if they manage to keep their recent run going.
“After Friday’s win and the rest of the weekend matches, Leeds are now third in the Championship, eight points clear of Derby in seventh and six adrift of second-placed Brighton”, he wrote in his column in the Yorkshire Evening Post.
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“And at the moment, I would say they are sure bets for the play-offs.
"I am still not going to say they will go straight up through automatic promotion but the way they are looking at the moment, the way they are playing and the belief that they seem to have in the squad – anything can happen, really.
“They have just got to make sure they keep that run going and the players hungry and all wanting more.
“At the moment, it seems as though that’s what they want and when you do get that in a bunch of players it can take you a long, long way.”
Leeds will next take on Barnsley in an away Championship game on Saturday before welcoming Nottingham Forest to Elland Road four days later.
