Former Leeds United striker Kemar Roofe has revealed Marcelo Bielsa's stance on Patrick Bamford, revealing that the Argentine coach has kept faith in him because he trusts the role he plays in his system.

Roofe was the first-choice forward for the majority of Bielsa's debut season at Elland Road – making 34 appearances and scoring 15 goals.

However, the 27-year-old left Leeds to join Belgian top-flight side Anderlecht in the summer, which has left Bamford as his starting striker.

It has been an up and down campaign for the Leeds forward, who has only scored 13 goals but has offered a lot outside of his numbers in front of goal.

There has been a fair amount of criticism targetted at the 26-year-old for his performances and, speaking to the Sun, Roofe suggested some of that was unwarranted.

He said: "Playing as a No9 is the hardest position on the pitch. It’s hard to get a top, top striker who can score week in, week out and when you can get one it’s expensive.

“You have to deal with so much pressure. If you don’t take those chances people say you’re not good enough or if you don’t score for a while you start to think, ‘When am I going to get another chance to score?’ and when you get that chance it might be on your mind, ‘Will I score it?’ You have to be mentally strong.

“It’s a bit unfair for him because he gets a lot of stick and sometimes he doesn’t deserve it."

Roofe also opened up on Bielsa's stance on his former teammate.

He said: "For Marcelo, the most disappointing thing is not for him to not be scoring, it will be not doing the work on the pitch or getting yourself into the position to score.

“So if for example he sees a player not making a run to get on the end of a cross he will be very disappointed.

“If you’re in that position and miss an open goal, he won’t be happy but not as disappointed as the first scenario."

Finding a replacement for Roofe and suitable support for Bamford has proved difficult for the Whites this season.

Eddie Nketiah joined from Arsenal on transfer deadline day and looked a real livewire from the bench but was recalled in January after starting just twice in the league for the club.

Jean-Kevin Augustin arrived from RB Leipzig in January but has failed to have an impact so far – appearing just three times.

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The Verdict 

Bamford has been a bit of a divisive character this season. The 26-year-old is an important player to the way Bielsa's side play but his goal return has simply not been good enough.

It's interesting to hear Roofe's explanation of Bielsa's stance on the striker and it certainly fits with the way he has dealt with other forwards this season.

At the moment Bamford's goals have helped Leeds to the top of the table, you'd imagine Whites fans won't care about the ones he has missed if he can help them secure promotion.