Ally McCoist has underlined that Leeds United must win their match against Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium if they are to remain in contention for automatic promotion.
The Rangers great stressed that Daniel Farke’s side must earn nine points from their next three games against Boro, Queens Park Rangers, and Southampton.
He did, however, stress that the game would not be simple, adding that Leeds would not have chosen to travel to the Riverside given Boro’s recent form.
Speaking live on talkSPORT [22 April, 09:25am], McCoist said: “It’s one of those games where, if Leeds had to pick a place to go, it wouldn’t be Middlesbrough on current form.”
“They have to win. If they have any real prospects of automatic promotion, they must look at their next three games and take nine points; it’s that simple.”
Ally McCoist discusses Leeds’ promotion decision live on talkSPORT.
With Farke’s side presently third in the Championship, they know they must win the rest of their games and hope that either Leicester or Ipswich fall up if they are to gain promotion through the automatic places this season.
Failure to do so will result in them qualifying for the playoffs, where Leeds has historically struggled, and they will want to avoid the unpredictability and instability that comes with the knockout stage.
This comes after Jeff Stelling stated that the match at the Riverside will be “massive” in determining whether the team is promoted this season, despite the home side’s nine-game unbeaten run in the Championship.
While the playoffs appear to be too far away from Boro at this point to have any realistic prospects of making it in, their recent run of form is nothing to be sniffed at, and they will present a difficult fight for Leeds.
