Luke Ayling has urged Leeds United to avoid a repeat of the results which followed the 3-0 victory over Chelsea in August. Leeds went on an eight-match winless run after their memorable win over the Blues – a run which was ended by last Saturday’s extraordinary win over Liverpool at Anfield. The Whites climbed one point clear of the relegation zone as a result and Ayling hopes that Leeds can build on their victory over Liverpool when AFC Bournemouth travel to Elland Road this Saturday.
Luke Ayling said: “Our boys have spoken about that this week already. Look we had that great result against Chelsea then we didn’t pick up a win for another eight. So we know that we have to go into this game and give it our all, that same kind of mental strength. We’ll go into it with a game plan and we’ve got to make sure we stick to it, and take our chances when they come along.”
Despite the wretched run of form that preceded the trip to Liverpool, Ayling believes Leeds have stayed in the contest in most of their games, and hopes that a few wins can help them climb the table.
Luke Ayling said: “I feel like we’ve been in all of those eight games. You can probably take Brentford out of that, but we were still in that game until late and then a few goals take it away from us. But we’ve been in all of those games and it’s been a little moment where something could go in for us and it changes the game. So I think us boys as a group know we’re close and the table is so tight that [it takes] a few wins and then you shoot back up. We need to keep our trust in the manager and I think that showed on the weekend, that the boys do trust him.”
Ayling had a five-minute cameo from the bench as he was tasked with keeping Liverpool at bay during the closing stages. He chose not to join in with the wild celebrations but explains that the jubilant scenes that followed Crysencio Summerville’s 89th winner showed just how important the three points were for Leeds.
Luke Ayling joked: “I’d probably say that that was the best five minutes that you’ll probably see in the Premier League. I was everywhere. It was quite a weird thing because I was dressed ready to come on and it was still 1-1. Then of course Crysencio scored and all the team ran and was celebrating, but I had to take myself away because I knew that I had a job to do. I was the fresh one, I had to keep a clear head, so I kind of had to stand at the halfway line watching everyone celebrate, knowing that I was coming on. I had a job to do, I had to stand in the box and header a few balls out. I would’ve loved to have just jumped on top of everyone, and start slapping people’s heads and everything, and properly get involved. But I just felt like the best thing for me at the time was to take myself away, and I knew that I had five big minutes where I was going to get a few touches and be around a spot where the ball was going to be.”
