'Leeds United have found their fighting spirit'

Fighting spirit is not an easily measured metric. But among the Leeds United faithful it is probably the most valued quality of any player. And since Billy Bremner put a ‘Keep Fighting’ sign above his place in the changing room in the 1960s, fighting spirit has defined the club.

But at times this season, that fight has seemed elusive. At The Den in early November, Millwall bullied Leeds. Off-the-ball fouls, dives, time-wasting; Milwall’s tactics dampened the Whites spirit.

But last Sunday, on a wet afternoon against Swansea, the Peacocks fighting spirit ignited. Twice behind, United never gave up. Even after the Welsh side equalised in the 90th minute – often a psychology knockout blow – Leeds reacted and within a minute led again.

“If you want to lift some silverware you also need heart and spirit and togetherness and big resilience, and this is what we showed today” Daniel Farke said in an interview shortly after Sunday’s game.

Sports psychologists define fighting spirit as a cocktail of mental states: stress and anger, coupled with determination and enthusiasm, and a robust self-belief.

For Leeds United there seems to be only one piece of the puzzle missing – game management. It is the ability to alter the pace of a match depending on the game state. The wherewithal, when up by a goal with minutes to go, to employ tactics that rob your opponent of hope.

The last 15 minutes in Wales were dominated by Swansea. As Leeds gave up possession, they provided the Swans with hope and opportunity. If United want to get promoted and stay in the Premier League, they must learn better game management.

But in a season that has followed a playoff final defeat and massive transfer upheaval in the summer, Leeds United have found their fighting spirt.

Find more from Adonis Storr at The Roaring Peacock