View: Former Leeds manager delivers broadside that could spell West Brom title boost
Kevin Blackwell believes that Leeds United and West Brom will get the job done and earn promotion once the Championship season kicks off again in less than three weeks.
However, the former Leeds boss admitted that his former side are not known for finishing the season strongly, something which could benefit West Brom in the final nine games.
Leeds currently sit top of the Championship, one point ahead of the Baggies who hold a six-point lead to Fulham chasing in third.
Blackwell claimed that anything can happen in the final month, and fired a warning shot to his former side with West Brom hot on their tail.
“I think Leeds and West Brom, definitely, they’re in the driving seat,” he told Sky Sports.
“But with nine games to go, there is a lot of points to play for. How will the lay-off affect teams when they come back? A team that wasn’t doing well prior the lay-off might come back and have a great run.
“That’s why these games have to be played. I don’t think you can do it on a points-per-game. It’s alright looking backwards but going forward, Leeds have never been a great finisher of a season.”
Slaven Bilic and his men will certainly take encouragement from that fact. Just take last season as an example, Leeds were almost guaranteed to earn promotion midway through the season.
The Yorkshire club collapsed in the final month of the campaign and became one of the first clubs to miss out on promotion after being top at Christmas.
Add to that, the defeat against Derby in the play-offs, a team they had previously dominated under Marcelo Bielsa and that adds fuel to the fire.
There are no guarantees that it will happen again, but it will be at the back of everyone’s minds and West Brom must be there to capitalise if it does.
In other West Brom news, Baggies look to play pre-restart friendlies against Championship rivals and PL side