Leeds went down to a 1-0 loss against Brighton at Elland Road on Saturday and the defeat means the Whites have now lost three games on the bounce, a run which includes an embarrassing 3-0 FA Cup exit at the hands of fourth tier Crawley Town.

 

The Whites now face a crunch trip to St James’ Park to play Newcastle United as they bid to stop the rot and get back to winning ways.

 

 

Whelan thinks that Marcelo Bielsa’s side are often too passive and lacking in characters who can grab a game by the scruff of the neck and demand more of the team.

 

“I think we’ve got a group of nice football players and I’m sure they get on really, really well”, Whelan said on BBC Radio Leeds after the Brighton loss.

 

 

“But when push comes to shove and you’re going through a bad period you need a David Batty, a Gary McAllister, you need a Gordon Strachan out there that’s going to grab you by the throat in the changing room, shake you a little bit, give you a little slap and demand more from you as a team.

 

“We haven’t got that and sometimes we just allow it to happen and then go on to the next game and allow it to happen.

 

 

“You need someone in there who’s going to grab people.”

 

Leeds, in 12th spot, still boast a comfortable eleven-point advantage over the bottom three, but have conceded more goals than any side in the division apart from West Brom.