Junior Firpo has sent a statement of intent to Leeds United supporters ahead of the start of the Championship play-offs this weekend.
Leeds will play the first leg of their semi-final against Norwich City at Carrow Road on Sunday afternoon looking to take a positive result back to Elland Road next Thursday.
The play-offs effectively represent a second shot at promotion for Leeds having blown the opportunity to finish in the top two with a dismal end to the season.
Leeds picked up just eight points from their final eight matches to allow both Leicester City and Ipswich Town to finish ahead of them, and that form has reduced confidence levels in the fanbase ahead of the play-offs.
What’s more, Leeds will also have to make Championship history by becoming the first side to win the play-offs after losing four of their last six regular season matches.
Firpo shows he means business ahead of Leeds’ play-off campaign
OPTA’s Championship supercomputer has Leeds as the favourites to go all the way and with that naturally adds a bit of pressure to the squad.
Junior Firpo has played in some big La Liga and Champions League games across his career so Daniel Farke will undoubtedly be leaning on his experience to help some of his younger teammates.
Firpo has had his best season at Leeds since joining from Barcelona but in the words of Farke, was very self-critical of himself after his mistake against Southampton last weekend.
And clearly the 27-year-old is looking to put that firmly behind him, if his latest Instagram story is anything to go by.
Leeds’ left-back has posted an image of himself alongside the caption ‘270’, showing just how determined he is to ensure the season is another three matches, rather than two.
It can also be seen as Leeds being just a matter of 270 minutes away from the Premier League again. Clearly he is motivated to get the club back there.
Firpo’s former Leeds boss Sam Allardyce backs Whites
It is now 12 months ago since Sam Allardyce spent four matches in charge at Leeds, with his caretaker spell not enough to keep the Whites in the Premier League.
And Allardyce is very much backing his old club to do the business and then stabilise again in the top-flight, having clearly enjoyed his time at Elland Road.
He said: “Obviously I want Leeds because I was there last season and I found it, in only a short time, a great club. Hopefully they get back there and get some stability in terms of trying to stay there this time.
“It’s been a good season for them but if they don’t quite make it, like with everything else, what happens financially? They have to cut financially again then and it becomes more difficult again then.”