Oxford boss says he now knows why Leeds United are the ‘best’ in the Championship, it’s down to one thing

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Oxford United caretaker boss Craig Short delivered a very honest assessment of Leeds United after his side’s 4-0 defeat at Elland Road.

Short was in the dugout for his one and only match in charge of the U’s following the appointment of Gary Rowett on Friday, who was in the stands watching on.

The conditions certainly made it difficult for Leeds to play their football in the first half but a very well worked goal involving Manor Solomon and Dan James saw the latter net his fifth of the season.

With the wind at their backs after the break, Leeds were by far and away the most dominant team in the second half and that was reflected by the scoreline.

Jayden Bogle, Brenden Aaronson and Solomon all got on the scoresheet in quick succession to earn Leeds their highest margin of victory of the season.

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Craig Short’s very honest verdict on Leeds after Oxford defeat

Rowett will have been relieved not to be in the dugout for this as his first game considering how much he has praised Leeds on punditry duty for Sky Sports this season.

Plenty of managers that have come up against Leeds have labelled them as the best side in the Championship and Short was no different after today.

Derby boss Paul Warne even went as far as saying he was ‘uncomfortable’ while watching his side on the sidelines at Elland Road earlier this month.

And despite sitting top of the table heading into Christmas, only a couple of weeks ago did Chris Wilder suggest Leeds are ‘miles ahead‘ of his Sheffield United side.

Speaking in his post-match press conference at Elland Road, Short believes it is Leeds’ ‘physicality’ that makes them stand out as the ‘best’ in the division.

He said: “They’re the best by a long way. The athleticism & physicality is the big difference.”

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Leeds vs Oxford stats tell the story

Leeds have been able to keep pretty much every single one of their opponents at home at arms length so far this season.

Oxford were just the latest side to struggle away at Leeds, and the statistics certainly reflect that too.