Paul Merson has shared to Sky Sports what Clinton Morrison told him on several occasions while his fellow pundit was watching Leeds United against Southampton on Saturday.
Leeds have taken themselves out of the bottom three with a win in Javi Gracia’s first game in charge. It felt like a massive fixture for the Whites, with Elland Road hosting the Premier League’s bottom two.
Southampton went into the contest off the back of a brilliant win over Chelsea the previous week. Leeds meanwhile, had received the boost of finally ending their search for their new manager in the days before the clash.
Merson worried for Leeds despite Southampton win
Ultimately, it was Leeds who came out on top. A late Junior Firpo goal settled the contest. And you would struggle to find a Southampton fan who felt that they deserved anything more from the game.
Leeds were the better side throughout. And it says a lot that the Whites were the team pushing for the game’s second goal as the full-time whistle loomed.
Nevertheless, it would seem that Gracia’s men did not impress Morrison. Merson has explained that his colleague was watching the game for Soccer Saturday. And he was left unconvinced that either team will beat the drop.
“Clinton Morrison was sat next to me on Soccer Saturday watching Leeds vs Southampton and he must have said to me five times, ‘These two are getting relegated’,” he told Sky Sports.
“I worry for them. Southampton had a great result against Chelsea but you have to follow that up by not getting beat by Leeds. That’s why they’re at the bottom of the league.”
Admittedly, Leeds are now something of an unknown quantity. Many fans will have been wary of getting carried away after what happened at the weekend.
However, that was only the fifth win we have had to celebrate this season. And it is definitely a promising start to life under Gracia.
It may be that we are relegated this season. It is so competitive down towards the bottom of the table. But there is no question that it was a bright start to the Gracia era. And we have the quality to keep ourselves in the division.
Certainly, there are going to be plenty of twists ahead.
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