Leeds have won just two of their opening 13 Premier League games and are lying 17th in the standings, just above the relegation zone.

 

The Whites are looking a far cry from the team that showed intensity and drive to finish in the top half of the Premier League last season.

 

 

Sidwell feels that Leeds are looking a bit like a spent force and they are struggling to match the intensity they displayed last year.

 

He stressed that it is easy to play at full throttle when the results are coming and conceded that Leeds’ form means some of the players are now slowing down and are not showing the required amount of intensity to make Marcelo Bielsa’s style of football work.

 

 

The former midfielder stressed that Leeds are in trouble because they are failing to produce Bielsa’s vision on the pitch.

 

Sidwell said on Premier League TV after the game: “I just feel like they are just burned out.

 

 

“It is easy to run around, be aggressive and close people down when you are seeing results, you are seeing the fruitfulness week in week out and you are up the table.

 

“When you are not up that table and you are same as last year and it is harder than what the other team are doing, some players are just slowly pulling the handbrake up.

 

“And Leeds can’t play like that and there is only one way they can play, the Bielsa philosophy.

 

“When they don’t they are in trouble.”

 

It remains to be seen whether Bielsa decides to bring in new signings in January to refresh his squad, but Leeds have been traditionally reluctant to add mid-season.