What Leeds United’s players did after their Championship play-off final defeat to Southampton

Patrick Bamford has revealed what he and the rest of the Leeds United squad did following their Championship play-off final defeat to Southampton. A first-half strike from Adam Armstrong at Wembley condemned the Whites to another year in English football’s second tier.

It was a heartbreaking end to a season filled with more highs than lows. Many United players were left inconsolable on the hallowed turf after seeing their promotion dreams dashed at the last hurdle.

Speaking to Joe Wilkinson on his My Mate’s A Footballer podcast, Bamford said: “Afterwards I think a lot of the lads just wanted to get off the pitch as soon as possible after we cheered the fans on.

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“But I spoke to Coops (Liam Cooper) and the manager and said we have to stay and congratulate Southampton, they won and it’s the right thing to do and they agreed, they said we’ll stay and cheer them on and Watch -and how he lifts the trophy and then leaves.

“Obviously you can lose a game but it’s worse if you lose and you’re a bad sport. It was tough but I think the lads did the right thing and obviously a lot of our players cried so it was a bit like go around and try to comfort them and get their heads back up.

“In the dressing room when I went it was really quiet but the manager spoke a bit but he’s an experienced guy and he knew that no matter what he said then nobody wanted to hear anything.

“But the one thing we did that was kind of nice was it was quite a weird atmosphere to begin with but we all went back to Leeds and people’s families were able to come and do stuff and we went up all at the rooftop bar at the hotel.

“Obviously it wasn’t a celebration, but it was just seeing the season together, being together and just showing that we were together as a group and it was nice. It was a strange atmosphere for the first two hours, but it was good.”

A knee injury ruled Bamford out of the play-off campaign. His last outing in Whites came at Middlesbrough on 22 April.

United finished third in the regular season, three points clear of Southampton, but Saints, a possession-based side, have won all three meetings between the two sides.

“We started really well, we had all the ball, but they had more knowledge and experience and they defended well,” Bamford said. “They put bodies on the line and until DJ (Daniel James) hit the bar, he didn’t. it doesn’t look like we’re going to score.

“While we had the ball, they controlled the game. When it’s a final like this, it’s rare to have more than one goal because it’s quite exciting.”