Joe Rodon say Leeds United plan to finish season strongly, then set new targets
Joe Rodon says Leeds United are fully focussed on a strong finish to 2025-26 before resetting their sights again after three years of progress.
The Whites were in the Championship when Rodon joined on loan, and after losing the play-off final in his debut campaign, they won the title the following May.
Now they have bucked the recent trend for sides promoted to the Premier League by avoiding relegation in their maiden season.
Handicapped by a few key injuries, they showed great spirit to draw 1-1 with Tottenham Hotspur on Monday, and could finish the season on 50 points – more than ninth-placed club world champions Chelsea currently have.
Their determination to press on is important for the integrity of the league. Their final home game, on Sunday, is against a Brighton and Hove Albion with sights on Champions League qualification. They finish at West Ham United, battling Spurs to avoid relegation.
"When I came to this club, this is what I wanted to do," commented the Wales centre-back. "The first year we failed but the last three years have been unbelievable and this is the direction we want to go.
"We want to finish strongly and the targets change again.
"This group is really competitive and we're professionals. On the training ground the manager always keeps it competitive – a healthy competitive.
"We want to push up the table because everyone has worked so hard to be in this position.
"The next one is Sunday. Brighton are a top team, they're on fire so we'll recover and we'll prepare, ready to give the fans a great performance for our last home game of the season."
Leeds were below their best at Spurs without injured wing-backs Jayden Bogle and Gabriel Gudmundsson, but refused to go under after conceding to Mathys Tel. They had two VAR reviews for penalties and when the second was given, Dominic Calvert-Lewin converted.
"We had to rotate but as this group has shown all season, anyone who's come in, they've stepped up and known their role," said Rodon.
"We went one down but the fight, the spirit in this group is unmatched. We were unfortunate not to come away with more.
"We finished strongly and that's the most important thing over the next two games – to finish strongly."
Manager Daniel Farke is unused to end-of-season dead rubbers, but is determined his players do not approach them that way.
"During my career I rarely had a situation where I didn't have to fight to the last second," he said. "Even the last gameday of last season, we won the title in the last seconds.
"We are just happy that we have achieved our main goal, we will also keep going until the end.
"I would never allow anything less than just 100 per cent."