Andy Key: Leeds is heading in the right direction
Leeds Carnegie Director of rugby Andy Key says the club is heading in the right direction despite five straight defeats in the Premiership.
The club sits bottom of the league table with just one point. However, Key insists there are many positives for the club to focus on, especially the three tries that were scored during the 40-24 defeat
to London Irish.
Key insists that spirits and attitudes remain positive at the Yorkshire club and he predicts that a win is just around the corner. It's vital for Leeds to get more points on the board in order to slowly
climb the table.
It's important that players, fans and officials do nothing other than look at the strengths of the team at the moment. However, with each defeat the pressure will grow and there's a good chance Leeds will
stay in a relegation fight.
The positives
The positives for Leeds are few and far between but they do exist. The club played some very attacking rugby against London Irish. The three tries were good creative moves that the London Irish defence
just couldn't cope with.
Leeds is competing in nearly every game. Only the 48-6 defeat that was dished out by Leicester is the one game where Leeds did not look like taking anything from the first to last minute.
The key officials at the club are in good spirits. Key is staying positive and this will rub off on the players and other officials. This will be vital because if heads drop at the club then there will
be no chance of picking up any win.
"We got far, far closer to the performance we know we are capable of giving. There was a lot more pride and passion and we would have beaten many other sides with that display. We scored three tries against
the league leaders and we are now moving back in the right direction," said Key.
The negatives
The main negative for the club is that the team is stuck right at the bottom of the table. It's much harder to recover and achieve a respectable mid-table finish when ground is being conceded all the time.
The longer that Leeds goes without a win is more time that other clubs are using to pull away from the bottom. There is also a greater chance that negative feelings will spread across the club.
Leeds is being targeted by opposition sides as a relatively easy match to win. The coaches and players at the club must change this mentality. Opposition sides will start doubling efforts because Leeds
will be targeted as a team to beat.
"We showed more of a cutting edge, with a high work rate, and that's what we wanted. We wanted to see high energy, physicality and see the players playing with excitement. We look at the bigger picture,
there are 17 league games to go. If we perform in those 17 games like we did here then we'll be turning the corner very quickly," added Key.
Betting advice
If Leeds is going to have any chance of staying up this season then the club has to produce a reaction within the next couple of weeks. The European break will allow the team to re-group and re-focus.
Betting in play with Leeds seems the safest option. The club has enough quality to beat any other side in the Premiership but it's completely random as to when the side will choose to show this.
The best player to back in Leeds at the moment is the fly half who will score more points with kicking than any outfield player.
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