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Scott Minto admits he expected Leeds United to come out in the second half at Fratton Park against Portsmouth and give the response champions give, but they failed to do it.
Leeds went down to a 1-0 loss away at Portsmouth in the Championship on Sunday, after Colby Bishop scored for the hosts, which has once again opened up the battle for the automatic promotion spots.
The Whites do still sit top of the Championship table, but Sheffield United are now level on points with them and Burnley are just two points further back.
Dropping into the playoff spots would be seen as a disaster for Leeds, even though they would go into the end of season lottery as favourites to win it.
Former defender Minto admits that after Portsmouth were better in the first half he was expecting Leeds to give the response of champions in the second half, but the Whites just did not do so.
He said after the final whistle on talkSPORT 2 (9th March, 14:03): “You expected them to come out Leeds [in the second half] and say ‘right, this is what champions do’.
| Club | Years |
|---|---|
| SV Lippstadt | 2009-2015 |
| Borussia Dortmund II | 2015-2017 |
| Norwich City | 2017-2021 |
| Krasnodar | 2022 |
| Borussia Monchengladbach | 2022-2023 |
| Leeds United | 2023- |
“But it was Portsmouth who were better in the second half and yes they had that really bad miss for Joel Piroe.
“Portsmouth though deserve all three points. Brilliant defensively, worked so hard in midfield and that clinical finish up front.”
Minto believes that Portsmouth though are now all but certain to stay up in the Championship; Pompey are currently ten points above the drop zone.
He added: “They might just need a few more points but from where they are now and how many games they’ve got left.”
Leeds have now collected just one point from their last two Championship games and are next due to host Millwall at Elland Road.
Millwall visited Elland Road in the FA Cup at the start of February and ran out shock 2-0 winners to knock the Whites out.
