Leeds United lost 4-2 to Derby County on last night to end their promotion chances, in what was an awful night for the Yorkshire outfit.

However, pundit Dean Ashton believes that the club will be able to bounce back from that next season - providing they keep hold of manager Marcelo Bielsa.

The Argentinian's future is up in the air after the defeat but Ashton told Wednesday night's EFL on Quest that whilst the loss was a hammer blow, there's a lot that's right about Leeds right now.

"They’ll be absolutely devastated and rightly so, but I think once the dust settles there’s so many great young players there that they’ll be able to bring through.

"The key is obviously Marcelo Bielsa has to stay because of how he’s changed that squad just this season and… just go out and buy some players. I don’t think they need that many either, the squad they has is very good."

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A failure to recruit enough new faces in January has been a common complaint from fans in the fallout to the Rams defeat, with Leeds memorably missing out on Daniel James late on in the window.

The Verdict

Obviously, the manner of the defeat last night will hurt Leeds and it will take time for the fans to get over it.

But, Ashton's comments are completely fair and they should be looking to build from this to go again next season.

Keeping Bielsa is pivotal to that, because not only is he an outstanding tactician but he has managed to united the club. If he stays then there's no reason why the Whites can't be celebrating promotion in 12 months time.

Thoughts? Let us know in the comments below.

Watch highlights of every EFL play-off final on Quest, with dedicated shows for each league starting from Saturday 25th May. Also available live and on demand at questod.co.uk and via the QuestOD app

Watch last night’s show here: https://www.questod.co.uk/show/efl-on-quest/video/league-2-playoff-final/EHD_265928C