Eunan O'Kane has revealed that he was hugely frustrated last season because of then Leeds United boss Garry Monk not playing him on a consistent basis as he felt he had the experience to help the club’s promotion push.
The midfielder, who joined Leeds from Bournemouth in the summer of 2016, made 26 appearances for the Yorkshire giants last season, providing three assists.
O’Kane did not feature for Leeds in a number of matches towards the end of last season, with the Whites dropping plenty of points during that period which ultimately cost them a place in the top six.
And the 27-year-old, who has experience of helping Bournemouth gain promotion to the Premier League, explained that it was a big frustration for him to sit on the bench during the business end of last season.
“It’s not my place to pick the team”, O’Kane said on BBC Radio Leeds.
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“I think if you go back to last season, you look at the record when I was in the team, I don’t think I could’ve done an awful lot more than what I did do.
“At the end of the day, I was not picking the team.
“I don’t think anyone can turn around to me and say, ‘you didn’t do this in training, you tossed that off in training.’
“I did everything the way I’ve done everything this year and I was not being selected.
“But like I said, it’s not down to me to select the team.
“I could only make myself available.
“It was hugely frustrating for me last season.
“I think I could’ve helped because I’ve been involved in teams before which were in similar situations in terms of trying to get promoted.
“I think my experience in that situation could’ve benefitted everyone.
“But it’s done with now, it’s a new season.”
O’Kane has featured heavily under new Leeds head coach Thomas Christiansen this season, making eight Championship appearances and setting up three goals.
