Neil Redfearn feels Leeds United head coach Thomas Christiansen is still coming to terms with the rough and tumble of coaching a team in the Championship.
The Dane earned widespread praise for Leeds’ impressive start to the season but results and performances have gone south in recent weeks, with four defeats in their last five league games.
Leeds are on a three-game losing streak ahead of visiting Bristol City this weekend and are in desperate search of results and points as they look to get their season back on track.
Redfearn remains an admirer of Christiansen despite the recent poor run as he does not try to hide from the results and is prepared to admit to his faults.
But he admits that managing a Championship side is a completely new challenge for the former Barcelona man and with the bulk of the new signings not tested at the level, the job has become more difficult.
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Redfearn has pointed out that the new Leeds boss is still getting used to playing in the Championship and coming to terms with its unique challenges.
On Christiansen, the former Leeds boss told Radio Yorkshire: “I like him.
“I like a lot of things he does and he doesn’t shirk, he doesn’t hide from the press and if he thinks it’s wrong then it’s wrong.
“Yes, there is a little bit of him protecting the performance, but which manager doesn’t? They all do it a little bit.
“The only thing I will say is that this is all new to him as a coach and a manager. It’s definitely new to a lot of the signings as apart from [Vurnon] Anita and one other, none of them played at this level.
“They have all come from different levels and it’s a different type of football.
"It’s like us taking a Championship side to Cyprus and play it as the Championship and the league would play differently”, Redfearn continued, in his explanation of Christiansen’s troubles.
“He’s coming to terms with the division and the league and it’s difficult for him.”
