Leeds United captain Liam Cooper has talked up the importance of hard work in training sessions and the Whites' man-to-man philosophy for their part in the side's impressive defensive record so far this season.
The Yorkshire-based club began their Championship campaign on a high note, winning four of their first five games. However, Marcelo Bielsa's side then slumped to a rough patch, winning just three of their following nine matches.
Leeds have now managed to bounce back from the slump by winning both their last two matches back-to-back, something which they had not been able to do since August.
16 games into the season, one thing that has remained consistent with the Whites is their defensive record. Leeds have kept eight clean sheets so far and have not conceded two or more goals in a game more than once.
Leeds skipper and centre-back Cooper is delighted that his side can stop opponents from creating many chances and credits the players' hard work and Bielsa's man-to-man philosophy for their defensive success.
“It’s one of the toughest parts of football to limit the opposition team to few chances and we’ve managed to do that in the first 15 games", Cooper said at a recent Q&A event held at Elland Road.
"It’s down to a lot of hard work on the training pitch.
"We base our game on a man-to-man philosophy and it’s working dividends at the moment, everyone knows what’s expected of them.
"It’s come on leaps and bounds over the time we’ve spent together and obviously when Marcelo first came in it was a bit alien to us and it was hard to get to grips with, then you become more confident.”
Leeds goalkeeper Kiko Casilla currently leads the Championship golden glove race with eight clean sheets, three more than second-placed Freddie Woodman of Swansea City.
