Former Liverpool and Fulham midfielder Danny Murphy says Leeds United look like a Championship side without Max Wober, Tyler Adams and Liam Cooper in the starting XI. The latter of the trio has been involved in the Whites' matchday squads but has played just 16 minutes of Premier League football since Javi Gracia took charge, with the other two out injured.
Leeds have crumbled in the month of April conceding 16 goals, with 11 of those in their last two. They're still two points above the drop but they know every game counts with seven games left in the current campaign.
The 6-1 defeat to Liverpool is the first time Leeds have conceded six goals at Elland Road in Premier League history and Murphy believes players' confidence will be destroyed.
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When asked how difficult it is to be a Leeds United player at the moment, Murphy told talkSPORT: “Very, very difficult. Damage limitation, you’ve just got to start thinking ahead moving forward. The manager and his coaching staff have got to do their job now, really try and pick these players up, find a system that the players believe and enjoy.
“The last two weeks have destroyed some confidence, they really have. They look tonight without their better players like [Maximilian] Wober, like [Liam] Cooper, Tyler Adams, they look like a Championship side.”
Murphy was not left impressed by the performance of Illan Meslier in the defeat to Liverpool and believes Pascal Struijk should not play for Leeds again. He said: “I wasn’t saying definitively he [Meslier] should be dropped, I don’t know how well the other goalkeeper is doing in training and stuff.
“It might be worth a change just to take him out of the firing line, he’s struggling, he was at fault for a couple of the goals. But, he’s certainly not the worst performer…
“[Marc] Roca hasn’t got the legs to play at this level, tries his best but he hasn’t got the legs. If he does play, he’s got to play in a three, not a two. I mean you’ve got to know your players haven’t you, surely?
“Struijk, he struggled like hell at left-back, he went back to his familiar position at centre-half and in the last couple of weeks he’s been destroyed. He can’t play, he can’t play again.”
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