Javi Gracia says Leeds are ‘full of confidence’ ahead of run-in

Leeds boss Javi Gracia insists his side are “full of confidence” as they hit the final stretch of Premier League fixtures.

Their bid for survival took a blow following a 5-1 defeat to relegation rivals Crystal Palace last Sunday, as Palace scored four in the second half.

Leeds now have eight games remaining to avoid the drop, starting with Liverpool on Monday, and Gracia is confident his team have the belief behind them to secure Premier League safety.

“After our last game all of us, we are disappointed most with the second half rather than the first half,” he told a pre-match press conference.

“The final of the game was for us difficult to accept and after that now we have another chance.

“We know there are eight games left to finish the season and we don’t have time to complain about anything, only try to be focused on the next game and try to do better as we did in the most part of the games we’ve played before.

“I think it’s in the way we can compete, we are full of confidence and we believe we can do it.”

This season’s Premier League relegation battle has been full of twists and turns with teams climbing in and out of the drop zone all throughout the campaign.

Leeds are lingering towards the foot of the table, but Gracia is not getting caught up in the permutations of other fixtures, maintaining that the focus is solely on his side.

“It’s important to be strong in this moment of the competition,” he added.

“But not because we’re one point ahead or behind, it’s trying to be focused on ourselves, trying to compete the best way, in the way we usually do it.

“If we are faithful with our plans, we will soon have many chances to achieve our target at the end of the season and we are concerned about that – to achieve our target at the end of the season not to be today or tomorrow in a better position or worse.”