Milner backs Leeds to survive
James Milner is confident Leeds can scrap their way to Premier League survival after proving they have the fighting spirit to avoid relegation.
Leeds head to relegation-rivals Blackburn on Saturday buoyed by Monday’s dramatic 3-2 victory over Leicester in which Alan Smith scored a late winner after City had fought back from 2-0 down.
Caretaker boss Eddie Gray’s side are now just two points adrift of safety, and could be level on points with Rovers if they can manage back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
But Leeds’ problem is they have not won away since November 29, which by coincidence is the last time Blackburn won at Ewood Park, with both teams enduring dismal eight-match runs.
Teenage winger Milner, though, feels Leeds proved a point to themselves with the win over City as he told LUTV: “I think it shows the fighting spirit of all the lads.
“It was very disappointing being 2-0 up at home and then being dragged back to 2-2, but we dug deep to get a result.
“That win was massive. If we hadn’t have picked up a point or we had lost, then heads would have gone down.
“It’s not over until it’s over, and we would have kept going until the end, but it would have been a lot more difficult to get out of.
“It means we’re back in it now. We have picked up another three points at home and we can keep that going into the Blackburn game.
“They are having a tough time at the moment and we can go there and treat it as a home game and get another win.
“We need to grind out results now and we showed the fighting spirit that we need to stay up in that game.
“When you’re down there some of the games are not going to be the best to watch, but we will work hard and grind out results when things are not going our way.”
Gray, meanwhile, is refusing to gamble on the fitness of midfielder Eirik Bakke, who looks certain to miss his fifth successive match.
It had been hoped the Norway international would return against Leicester following a five-week absence with a torn thigh muscle injury.
Although back in full training at the end of last week, Bakke insisted he was not ready to make his comeback and is again a doubt.
Gray said: “Eirik did not feel 100 per cent comfortable with playing, and if he does not feel right then there’s no point in playing him.
“He’s still got a bit of a problem, and we have to make sure he is not going to experience any further problems when he does return.”
