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Luke Ayling makes grim Leeds United assessment that will have Marcelo Bielsa gutted

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Following defeat to West Ham on Sunday, Leeds United defender Luke Ayling shared that he feels as though the squad aren’t fit enough at the moment.

Leeds came into their penultimate game of the season knowing that anything but a win from the match at West Ham would see them all but relegated from the Premier League.

Sam Allardyce’s men got off to the perfect start when Rodrigo fired in a superb volley in the first half, but their feeble resistance was broken before half-time as Declan Rice equalised after a smart move saw Jarrod Bowen cross to the midfielder at the back post.

How did Leeds lose at West Ham?

After Rice struck to make it 1-1, it was one-way traffic and Leeds had absolutely no answer to the Irons’ control of possession from thereon.

Bowen made it 2-1 as he broke through Leeds’ line to sneak a shot past Joel Robles, before some inexplicable defending saw Lucas Paqueta dance down the by-line to tee up Manuel Lanzini, from a short corner that West Ham had set up fully with the intention of not scoring from as they had one player in the box.

Lazy defending and being caught in transitions more and more as the game went on was a truly alarming development at the London Stadium, but it wasn’t the first time this season.

What has Ayling said?

Ayling has been known to speak his mind after tough results as a Leeds player, and this loss was no different, as he commented on the poor fitness of the side post-match.

Speaking on Sky Sports about what issues he saw from the game, Ayling said:

“I think in years gone past, teams feared us when it comes to a running point of view and our fitness and stuff and I just don’t feel like it’s there this season.

“We start so well, we start bright, we score a goal then they score a goal. That can happen at this level but then we came out for the second half and we just can’t go again so it’s very disappointing.

“We know where we are so we are pushing to get that second goal and then we leave it a bit open at the back and then they get a goal and then we are gung go trying to get back in the game. Then we concede a real bad third goal.”

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Ayling is obviously referring to the supreme fitness of the side demonstrated under legendary manager Marcelo Bielsa, with the side doing so well later in games as other teams flagged.

That is absolutely not present at Leeds this season, with the side dropping 25 points from winning positions throughout the campaign – an utterly embarrassing statistic.

Who is to blame here is fairly clear, because the club put their trust in Jesse Marsch, who was 100% not the man to succeed Bielsa, and tore away a lot of what made us such a captivating side.

The board have killed us here, and Ayling’s words here speak volumes about everything that’s been thrown away since Bielsa was sacked.

Quiz: Can you remember Leeds United’s last 15 results v Tottenham ahead of Saturday’s clash?

1 of 15

November 2022, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium?

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Leeds United season ticket holder since 2013/14, currently situated in the middle of the FA5 noise. From Pablo Hernandez to 5-1 drubbings, I've seen it all at Elland Road.