Joe Rodon has issued an extraordinary Leeds United verdict on next season’s Championship promotion campaign and the Whites’ ‘expectation’.
Wales International Center-back Rodon is now one week into his permanent Leeds career, having joined the club for £10 million from Tottenham following a fantastic loan spell last season. Leeds had already played their first game of the 2023-24 Championship season when Rodon joined the club on a season-long loan from Spurs, a transfer confirmed just two days before United’s second game in the new season against Birmingham City.
Rodon made his Whites debut as an 89th-minute replacement in the 1-0 defeat at Birmingham, and the defender believes his late arrival, as well as the overall tenor of the season, must be taken into account when evaluating United’s 2023-24 campaign.
Despite a string of outstanding performances by the Spurs loanee, Leeds’ season ended in disappointment with a 1-0 loss to Southampton in the Wembley Championship play-off final. Leeds’ 90 points were insufficient for automatic promotion, as Leicester City won the division with 97 points, one more than runners-up Ipswich Town.
Rodon describes it as a “crazy” season that he has never experienced before.
But the 26-year-old is now back for another shot at returning Leeds to the top tier for the second time, and he thinks that last season’s experiences will help him embrace the expectation of returning the Whites ‘where they belong’.
“I think you have to weigh up the whole season,” Rodon added, reflecting on last season’s painful close call. “I don’t believe I arrived until the third or fourth game, and the club I was playing for was nothing like it was at the end of last season.
“Look at last season; there were a lot of ifs and buts, but it was a crazy season; I’d never seen or been a part of anything like it before. We just fell short, but you learn from experiences like this, and they will only make you better in the future.”
According to the bookmakers, Leeds is the strongest team moving into the new season, with Daniel Farke’s Whites clear market leaders ahead of demoted clubs Burnley, Luton Town, and Sheffield United, with Middlesbrough sandwiched between the Hatters and Blades. Rodon understands that Leeds anticipates and relishes the task and pressure.
“I think when you come to a club like this, every player understands the role they have to play and the pressure that comes with it,” he joked. “We all know where this team belongs, where this club belongs and that is something we want to look forward to and get back to.”
When pressed on the burden of expectation, Rodon admitted: “Everywhere we go, it appears that the stadium is at capacity. It only adds to how fantastic this club is, and I am really enthusiastic about the future and the season ahead.”
