Vitor Pereira Credit: Imago
Leeds United were held to a goalless draw by Brentford at Elland Road on Saturday, taking a point in their fight to stay in the Premier League.
It wasn’t the home victory they were hoping for, and it means their winless run in the league now stretches to six matches. Still, they avoided defeat and added to their tally.
Most Read on The Leeds Press
Elsewhere, results went in their favour, with West Ham losing to Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest securing an impressive win over Tottenham, leaving Leeds 16th and four points clear of the relegation zone.
Forest’s win in North London has reenergised their bid to stay up as Vitor Pereira looks to guide the team towards Premier League safety in the next couple of months.
Vitor Pereira dismisses Leeds United question amid relegation scrap
Forest sit 16th, just behind Leeds in the league table, and are very much in the middle of a relegation dogfight going into the last seven games of the season.
Pereira is their fourth manager this season as the club look to have a positive end to an extremely turbulent season.
The Forest boss insisted that he is not focusing on the other teams around them in the league table and stressed that they can get points against any team.
He does not believe Forest need to care about what Leeds and the other teams are doing and just focus on playing well from now until the end of the season.
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.
“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.”
The Whites have great opportunities to pick up the points needed to survive
Losses for West Ham and Tottenham on Sunday meant Leeds remained in the same position as before the weekend, 16th in the table and four points clear of the relegation zone.
Still, there’s no room to relax with things so tight at the bottom, and Daniel Farke has indicated they may need around seven more points to secure Premier League safety this season.
Premier League Bottom Six – Relegation Battle
The latest Premier League standings show the teams battling to avoid relegation
Pos Club P W D L GF GA GD Pts
15 Leeds United 31 7 12 12 37 48 -11 33
16 Nottingham Forest 31 8 8 15 31 43 -12 32
17 Tottenham Hotspur 31 7 9 15 40 50 -10 30
18 West Ham United 31 7 8 16 36 57 -21 29
19 Burnley 31 4 8 19 33 61 -28 20
20 Wolverhampton Wanderers 31 3 8 20 24 54 -30 17
With home fixtures against Wolves and Burnley, along with a trip to Tottenham still to come, Leeds will be targeting those games as crucial in their survival bid.
They can’t keep depending on other results going their way; sooner or later, they’ll have to take matters into their own hands.