How Bees’ hurt proved vital education for new Leeds United boss

That was the afternoon when 15 seconds of quite incredible drama saw Uwe Rosler’s Brentford, first, blow the chance of clinching promotion by missing a penalty and then Doncaster Rovers charge up the other end to win not only the game but the League One title.

For Rovers, a pint or three to toast success while all the Londoners could do was cry into their beer over the one that got away.

Rosler will once again go head-to-head with Doncaster a week tonight, this time in the Capital One Cup. And he admits the heart-ache – the Bees went on to lose the play-off final to Yeovil three weeks later – of 2012-13 took some getting over.

“Doncaster was hard,” admits Leeds’ head coach. “In football, definitely my hardest challenge. But we did eventually overcome it because of the morale we had at the club.

“We had created a great bond and how the players bounced back in ten days to win against Swindon (in the play-off semi-finals on penalties) was incredible. It was phenomenal.

“Everyone had written us off. It was the same the following year after both the Doncaster game and then losing the play-off final to Yeovil.

“But Brentford went up in the third year.

“You only achieve that when you have fantastic morale.

“In the Championship, you obviously need good players.

“But you also need fitness and morale. That is what we want to build here at Leeds.”