Patrick Bamford took a ‘gigantic’ step forward for Leeds United on Saturday afternoon after his biggest stint on the field in almost six months. That’s according to Jesse Marsch, who believes Bamford is finally showing signs of his old self after what can only be described as a hugely frustrating campaign so far.
After scoring twice in the FA Cup third round replay against Cardiff City at Elland Road, the striker was given the chance to start the club’s fourth round tie against Accrington Stanley at the Wham Stadium and he took the chance to impress. Unfortunately, despite coming close on a couple of occasions, he couldn’t find the back of the net but he did assist goals for Jack Harrison and Junior Firpo in what was a fine individual performance.
He was eventually replaced by Brenden Aaronson in the 77th minute of the contest and that’s the longest he has spent on the field since the opening day of the Premier League campaign when Leeds took on Wolves. It’s clear that injuries have got the better of his season so far, but Marsch will be hoping the 29-year-old can finally build up some momentum now.
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Bamford does have stiff competition for a spot in the Whites’ starting XI, with Georginio Rutter arriving this month for a club record fee to compete alongside top scorer Rodrigo for a place in the side. Marsch is keen to push Bamford, though, and he’ll believe he can have a big say as Leeds look to pull away from the relegation zone.
“That was another big hug for him at the 75th minute,” Marsch said after Saturday’s game. “We finally got him physically to a point where he was exhausted because he puts so much into the match and he had to fight up there against some big centre backs.
“I thought the way he asserted himself at all moments within the match was exactly what we needed, so happy to see him in good form. Certainly, yeah, it gives us more weapons. We have weapons now and that's fun for a manager to work with.”
He added: “I think it’s a huge step for him. Even last week, he didn't quite feel ready to start and so we had this, we trained hard this week in preparation for this and you could see that he looks like himself.
“So, then the discussion was ‘okay, how long can we go’ and we said ‘let's check at half' and at half he felt great. This game had a lot of pauses because there was a lot of long balls and throw-ins and this kind of stuff so it didn't have the pace of what a Premier League match has. But still 75 minutes for him at this point from what he's been through in the last year, I think is gigantic.
“So it gives us a chance I think to really start to push Patrick and to be the player that we know it can be.”
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