Sam Allardyce appears to have outlined how many points he thinks Leeds United may need to stay in the Premier League ahead of their final four games of the season.
The new interim Whites boss was speaking in his first press conference after being confirmed as Javi Gracia‘s replacement on Wednesday.
The idea of Sam Allardyce coming in at Leeds would have been unthinkable less than a week ago. But there is little question that something had to change after the shambolic showing on the south coast on Sunday.
The problem for Leeds is that the fixtures remaining are daunting. A trip to Manchester City is followed by a home game against Newcastle. Tottenham visit Elland Road on the final day after Leeds have been to West Ham.
Allardyce sets Leeds point target
Leeds are currently outside the bottom three. So there is a world where the club could stay up without picking up another point. However, no supporter can confidently say that that will be enough.
Certainly, Allardyce wants to ensure that Leeds can take it out of their rivals’ hands. He suggested that two wins would be his target.
“If we are to stay up, like I said before, sometimes it has to be done, and you have to create a shock in the Premier League. So hopefully we can shock a few people in the Premier League by getting the results we need to stay up. I hope that we can find six points in four because I think that that would be a really good achievement,” he said in his press conference.
Two wins is not entirely out of the question. But you do get the feeling that it is going to come down to the wire. Certainly, even the most optimistic supporter cannot envisage Leeds getting anything from the Etihad Stadium this weekend.
And facing Newcastle at home is going to be another incredibly tough game. With that, the two wins may have to come from the clashes with West Ham and Tottenham.
By that stage, there will be even more pressure on Leeds’ shoulders. And unfortunately, it is not clear whether the squad have the ability to handle that pressure.