Leeds United keeper Felix Wiedwald accepts the scrutiny on his position

LIKE any goalkeeper worth his salt, Leeds United custodian Felix Wiedwald's default mechanism is to strive to block everything that comes his way.
Felix Wiedwald: Has taken the criticism of him, and his dropping, on his chin.Felix Wiedwald: Has taken the criticism of him, and his dropping, on his chin.
Felix Wiedwald: Has taken the criticism of him, and his dropping, on his chin.

In the case of the German stopper, that also includes straight-batting media criticism following one or two high-profile mistakes following his summer move.

Thankfully, the former Werder Bremen player appears to be made of the right stuff and has shown character after returning to the side in place of Andy Lonergan having been dropped following costly errors in the games against Ipswich Town and Sheffield Wednesday in the autumn.

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After a late blemish in United’s recent 3-1 win at QPR, Wiedwald also displayed his resolve in last weekend’s victory and clean sheet against Norwich City – and is remaining phlegmatic on the subject of criticism.

Leeds United goalkeeper Felix WiedwaldLeeds United goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald
Leeds United goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald

Wiedwald said: “I do not really read the newspapers.

“It is always up and down. Last week, I did a big mistake and now in the last game, I did very well with the saves.

“This is the job of a goalkeeper, it is always up and down.

“If I am a striker and miss the target three times and then I hit the target one time, I am the hero.

Leeds United goalkeeper Felix WiedwaldLeeds United goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald
Leeds United goalkeeper Felix Wiedwald

“If a goalkeeper makes a mistake, it is always a goal.”

Demotion from the first-team at the beginning of October – after keeping six clean sheets in a row early on in his Leeds career – may have represented a blow to the pride of Wiedwald.

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But instigating a training-ground response was his sole motivation, with the 27-year-old intent on looking forwards and not backwards ahead of a critical juncture of the season for play-off candidates United, who head into Saturday’s home game with Hull City on the back of an uplifting return of four wins in six matches.

Wiedwald added: “I needed a little bit of time to settle in, so the first weeks were very nice – I kept six clean sheets in a row and then the coach dropped me.

“I worked very hard in the training and I practiced more to improve my game and now I am back and we have a good run now.

“In the last four games, we have taken 10 points which is very important, but we have to go ahead against the next opponent and we want the same – three points.

“We have a lot of games in front of us. We did very well last week, so we want to go ahead against Hull with the three points.”