Patrick Bamford shares what he “honestly” thought of the atmosphere when Leeds came out against Norwich

In front of a raucous crowd, Leeds were absolutely on fire at Elland Road and raced out of the blocks thanks to Ilia Gruev’s brilliant free-kick.

David Wagner – who has since been sacked by Norwich – admitted his side struggled to cope with the atmosphere and the game was over at half-time thanks to goals from Joel Piroe and Georginio Rutter.

It was then a partisan atmosphere in the second half with Liam Cooper getting a great reception on his last appearance at Elland Road. Meanwhile, Crysencio Summerville rounded off the scoring.

Bamford gives his verdict on the atmosphere at Elland Road vs Norwich

Junior Firpo and Illan Meslier were among the Leeds players who praised the fans for the atmosphere on their social media platforms after the match.

Boyhood Leeds fan Archie Gray clearly had a lot to take in after the game as he sat alone in the middle of the pitch admiring the stands while the rest of his team-mates did a lap of honour.

But it must have been a different kind of experience for Bamford, because he was actually in the stands, all right in front of West, near the dugouts.

Speaking on the latest episode of ‘My Mate’s A Footballer Podcast’, Bamford claimed he knew Leeds would get the job done as soon as he heard the reception as the players came out of the tunnel.

He said: “Honestly, the atmosphere was … it’s hard to remember others before that, but that was incredible. I think Leeds fans will admit themselves that they can either be the best, and I mean the best, but away sides know that if they can turn the crowd, it can get a bit itchy.

“There are a lot of people and you start to feel the nerves in the crowd sometimes, but yesterday honestly. Before the players came out I was ready to wait and as they came out I thought there’s no way we’re not going to win this with the atmosphere.

“I knew we were going to start fast, it’s the loudest I’ve ever heard. With the white scarves and banners, sometimes that stuff can look a bit gimmicky and doesn’t work, but yesterday it looked amazing.”

Bamford tells how he helped Georginio Rutter before the game

Bamford may not have been able to help his teammates on the field, but he was still keen to make sure he played his part in the dressing room.

At 30, he is one of the most experienced members of the squad and with the youngster Rutter in pre-match form, Bamford aimed to give him some confidence ahead of kick-off.

He said: “All I was concentrating on before the game was talking to Georgi. Rutter has been going through a tough time in recent weeks after undergoing the surgery.

“I was telling him before the game, trying to build him up and say what I felt he would want to hear just to get him in the right mindset.

“Honestly, whether I talked to him or not, I don’t think whether I talked to him or not made a difference. I know what it’s like when he’s wrong, he’s a young boy, he’s struggling.

“He can get into a vicious cycle where he makes a mistake and tries to do something better to overcome that mistake, but then makes another one. I was talking to him before the game and making sure, but I was seeing how he was. He was confident, ready to go and happy.”

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