Rival boss shuts down Leeds United question as relegation scrap intensifies
Yorkshire Evening Post· 471 words · 3 min read
Nottingham Forest manager Vitor Pereira isn't paying any unnecessary attention to Leeds United or his side's other relegation rivals.
Pereira's Forest were the weekend's big relegation battle winners, with a 3-0 victory at Tottenham Hotspur pulling them three points clear of the drop zone. They also leapfrogged their Sunday-afternoon hosts into 16th and are just one point below Leeds.
The Whites enjoyed the second-best result of the weekend, drawing 0-0 at home to Brentford which although disappointing at the time, saw them pull a little closer to safety. Tottenham obviously lost, while 18th-placed West Ham fell to a 2-0 defeat at Aston Villa.
With Wolves and Burnley as good as down, it looks set to be one from four joining them in the relegation zone come May. West Ham and Tottenham currently look most likely to battle it out but as will likely be the case with Daniel Farke and Leeds, Pereira is focusing only on his own side's fortunes.
Asked about the relegation picture, Pereira told BBC Radio Nottingham: "It's not about anyone else! It's about us and what we want to be as a team. The feeling is we can get points everywhere, home or away, this is what I want us to be.
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"It's not about Tottenham, it's not about West Ham, and it's not about Leeds. It's about us and what we want to be as a team and what we want to be as players, and what I want to be as a manager. I want us to play without fear and with confidence. We want to be organised and to believe."
That win saw Forest's chance of relegation drop dramatically, according to statistical experts Opta, although they are still predicted to finish below Leeds. The Whites have been backed to remain 15th come May, despite a slight drop in recent form.
Leeds are without a Premier League win since beating Forest 3-1 back in early February and have not scored in their last four games. But back-to-back draws against Crystal Palace and Brentford have kept them from falling dangerously close to West Ham in 18th.
Farke's side have the most favourable run-in of all four relegation candidates, with all of the bottom four still to play in their final seven games. Virtually-relegated Wolves and Burnley are due at Elland Road while there are also trips to Tottenham and West Ham on the horizon.
For now, 13 Leeds stars have international commitments to focus on while the rest of Farke's squad will remain at Thorp Arch. They have just under two weeks to prepare for an FA Cup quarter-final trip to West Ham, with a further eight days before their Premier League return at Manchester United.