Leeds United’s Ilia Gruev is determined to help his team secure promotion in the upcoming 2024/25 seasons, despite the lingering disappointment from their playoff final defeat to Southampton.
Reflecting on the painful loss, Gruev is channeling that setback into motivation for the new campaign.
Leeds United endured a heartbreaking loss to Southampton in the playoff final, but the focus has now shifted towards achieving direct promotion next season.
The team and fans are optimistic about their prospects, bolstered by the confidence of key players like Gruev.
Gruev, who played a pivotal role in the playoffs by scoring a crucial goal against Norwich City, shared his thoughts in an interview with The Athletic.
He described the initial weeks following the final as emotionally challenging, but emphasized the importance of moving forward.
“The first two weeks, it hurt after the final. You don’t want to think much about football so you try to do something else. But then when it’s week three or four, you start to work hard and you want to come back to see your team-mates, play football, and you want to start again. I want to do something, show myself and achieve something with this team,” he said.
The midfielder also revealed that the team had a crucial meeting the day after the final, where the manager encouraged them to learn from the experience and focus on the future.
“The boss said that it was a bad feeling but that’s football and we have to learn from it. He told us to go home, do what we want but, when we return for pre-season, we’re starting again and we have to forget about it.”
Despite rumors linking Gruev to Borussia Dortmund earlier in the summer, it appears he is committed to staying at Leeds. The club has already seen the departure of two senior midfielders, making Gruev’s presence even more vital. His focus is firmly on helping Leeds secure promotion.
With the new season on the horizon, Gruev is confident that the team can turn their past disappointment into a successful campaign.
“We’ve started with a new energy and that’s the good thing about football, you can change things very fast and forget about it because football is a daily thing. When you have a group together, it doesn’t matter if you don’t get promoted, these things help you grow together,” he stated.
As Leeds prepares for the 2024/25 season, fans and players alike are hopeful that the lessons learned from last season will fuel their push for promotion.
Under the guidance of manager Daniel Farke, who has experience in achieving promotion, the team is ready to tackle the challenges ahead and aim for a successful season.
