Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford believes fans at Elland Road are finally starting to see the best of him.

The 26-year-old joined Leeds from Middlesbrough last summer and scored ten goals in 25 appearances in all competitions during his first season at Elland Road, although he was forced to spend weeks of the campaign on the sidelines due to injury problems.

The striker has been an important player for Leeds this season and has started every game in the Championship, although he is now without a goal in his last five matches.

The centre-forward has been criticised by some Leeds fans for his lack of goals in recent games and some have questioned head coach Marcelo Bielsa's decision to stick with him up front ahead of on-loan Arsenal striker Eddie Nketiah.

However, Bamford is pleased with his start to the season and is confident that Leeds fans are starting to see the best of him, now that he has added more aggression to his game.

Bamford told The Yorkshire Post: “Maybe last year, one of the things that probably I was criticised for a little bit was not being aggressive enough and ‘can he do it up front on his own?’

“And I knew I could and I knew I had the strength and stuff, I just had to add that aggression into my game a bit and to be honest I think that this season, my performances have been a lot higher than they were last year.

“I know I have probably missed a few chances still, but as long I am getting the chances, then it is nothing to worry about.

“I am not really one to look at Twitter. But people were telling me: ‘oh you are getting slated’. I know that is a minority and the fans who have come to watch the games have been brilliant and they have always sung my name.

“It was a hard one last year; signing for a big amount of money and then getting injured and not playing and then there was the disappointment of not getting promoted.

“I feel like they (supporters) did not get the best of me last year. This year, it is my aim to show them and once you get Leeds fans on your side, it can only be good news.”

Leeds are currently second in the Championship table and will be looking to continue their momentum with three points against Millwall at the weekend.

The Verdict

This is a big season for Bamford and it'll be interesting to see how he handles the pressure of being the most experience striker at Leeds, now that Kemar Roofe has left the club.

He's missed some big chances in games and there's no doubt that he probably should've scored a few more goals, but his all-round game has improved massively from last season.

His hold-up play has been very good and he looks physically stronger and more aggressive, which are important traits for a striker to have.

He just needs to be a bit more ruthless and clinical when it comes to taking some of the chances that fall his way, but if he can just get one goal, I'm confident he'll kick on and start scoring again.

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