‘Very difficult’… Ally McCoist makes Leeds United claim in new Championship promotion verdict

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It was an intriguing weekend once again in the race for automatic promotion from the Championship as both Leeds United and Leicester City dropped points – and Ipswich returning to second position.

Going into the weekend, Leeds sat in second place and with a clash against Huddersfield Town – it gave Daniel Farke‘s men a real chance to pile the pressure on Southampton and Ipswich, before their games.

But, instead, it gave Southampton and Ipswich the chance to claw them in – as Leeds failed to beat the Terriers away from home. That is even with Huddersfield captain Jonathan Hogg sent off in the first half.

Southampton came from behind to beat Birmingham City to win 4-3, while Ipswich’s return to form has continued – beating Plymouth away to go secure five league wins in a row. Leeds have fallen into third.

Leicester, meanwhile, suffered defeat at home to QPR on Saturday. Many felt they were home and dry, but in fact, Ipswich are only three behind the Foxes. Ally McCoist gave his take on the promotion race.

“I’ll be honest, I thought Ipswich had hit the buffers a little bit, but boy have they recovered,” McCoist told TalkSPORT (04/03, 6.50AM). “I saw Southampton up at Liverpool, they knocked the ball about.

“They were a great watch. Look at Leeds, obviously a draw at the weekend, one each at Huddersfield. It’s very difficult now. It looked that Leicester were home and away but it’s wide open now,” he added.

Ally McCoist makes Leeds United claim in new promotion verdict

At the start of February, Harry Redknapp claimed that Leeds could be a “danger” in the race to not only gain automatic promotion – but to finish in first place. It was a bit of a stretch, at the start of February.

But now, it looks a real certainty. The form of Leeds, Southampton and Ipswich to not only keep pace with Leicester but to claw them back in is a real testament to how well the chasing pack have played.

Despite Saturday’s disappointing result, you would argue that Leeds are playing better than Russell Martin’s Southampton at the moment. Whether Ipswich can maintain this run, remains to be seen.