On a day where Leeds United needed to fly out of the blocks and make a real statement to stand any chance of going up automatically, it was alarming how meek Daniel Farke’s side proved to be against Southampton.
Obviously, the fate of the Championship promotion race was out of Leeds’ hands by the time they kicked off on Saturday; victory would not have been enough for the Whites anyway.
However, Leeds now go into the play-offs having won one and lost four of their last six games, and struggling to take any positives from the last couple of months.
Norwich City will certainly fancy their chances in the semi-final, with the pressure hardly on the Canaries after Leeds had spent most of 2024 looking poised to go up automatically.
Thankfully for Leeds, there was one small positive to emerge from the final day defeat to Southampton, with Connor Roberts coming on for the last 12 minutes at Elland Road.
Connor Roberts hands Leeds much-needed boost before play-offs
The £2.5 million defender is yet to get the chance to really get going since arriving on loan at Leeds in January, with Archie Gray spending much of the past few months as first-choice at right-back. Roberts has completed 90 minutes just once in the Championship.
But Roberts was superb against Blackburn before he was substituted in the second-half, and Leeds had conceded 10 goals in his absence before he returned to the pitch at the weekend.
Daniel Farke needs his best players to step up again
Unfortunately, Gray has looked jaded as the campaign has gone on, and Sam Byram has potentially actually looked better on the left flank since his return to the club.
Roberts is an international right-back with plenty of experience of playing alongside Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu. He has also seen more minutes in the Premier League than the Championship this season.
If Leeds find their best form again, then Farke’s men will be well-placed to get across the line and join Leicester City and Ipswich Town in the Premier League next year.
And having Roberts back in the fold could give Leeds a much-needed lift ahead of the clash with Norwich, with the first-leg coming up this weekend.