Former Leeds United skipper Gordon Strachan has hailed the ‘attitude and resilience’ of his Elland Road team-mates as he reflected on the club’s rise from the second tier to the champions of England in the early 1990s.
Strachan joined Leeds in 1989 shortly after Howard Wilkinson took charge of the club, who had been stuck in the second tier of English football for the past seven seasons.
The likes of Vinnie Jones, Chris Fairclough and Chris Kamara followed Strachan in at Elland Road, while David Batty and Gary Speed rose through the youth ranks as Leeds claimed the Second Division title at the end of the 1998/90 season.
A fourth-place finish in the top flight followed before Leeds were crowned champions in the final season before the Premier League was created.
Looking back at the achievement, Strachan admits that while his side may not have had the most talented individuals, it was their character and attitude that meant they were more than the individual sum of their parts,
“I’d been in sides with far better players, but I don’t think I was part of a team with more camaraderie than that Leeds team,” Strachan tells FourFourTwo. “We had gifted players in the side, like Gary McAllister, but I also really admired guys like Vinnie, Mel Sterland and Chris Kamara.
“I admire players who aren’t naturally talented but are great at what they do. We can’t all be Bryan Robson and Kenny Dalglish!
“In terms of attitude and resilience, that group of guys were the best team-mates and characters you could have. We had to get promoted or the club was in trouble – not only did we get promoted, but we got into Europe and won the First Division.”
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