Leeds United can expect to lose up to six players this summer '“ Lorimer

Lorimer says he hopes the outgoing players will be replaced by footballers “of a higher calibre”.

Writing in the Yorkshire Evening Post, he says the current season is one to forget - though the club is better under coach Steve Evans than his immediate predecessors.

Lorimer says: “We can’t go into next season with the lack of strikers or the defensive problems we’ve got now. You can’t ever afford to be in a situation where you’re three months into a campaign and trying to fight back from 17th or 18th position, like we’ve been doing.

“But I’m quite happy for the club to keep their powder dry until the summer.

“This season, for me, has been another season to forget so far. For three or four years now we’ve been trying to progress but getting nowhere.

“It’s hard to say that as we stand the team are significantly better or stronger, although I definitely think there’s been an improvement under Steve. An extra striker in January wouldn’t really have changed that. Come the summer I suspect we’ll witness much bigger changes. I can see five or six players moving on and I hope they’ll be replaced with a better calibre of footballer.

“I have to say that Steve’s signings so far look decent. More of that standard would move us up a level, closer to the play-offs and able to compete.”