Rosler hails character of his Leeds United players after Reading stalemate

The clash in Berkshire was the first leg of a tough Championship away double header which sees Leeds travel to Bristol City on Wednesday, with Rosler’s men pitted in a gruelling schedule of four games in ten days - ending in a home derby with Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.

Rosler said: “The schedule we have had to go through is not good, I have to say that. But I don’t want to make excuses.

“One hundred and twenty minutes on Thursday and the emotions having lost the game after playing eighty minutes with ten men and then lose on penalties was difficult. It was the physical part but also the emotional part.

“For us, it is character building when you come through this schedule and get a good amount of points. I think everything else is easy after that and our supporters realise that in terms of what we have to go through.

“For us, it is vital how we recover. We have to live like monks, no alcohol, no sex. We go back up and down the motorway again to Bristol and for that reason it was very important to get this point.”

Rosler was full of praise for the 4,000-plus travelling contingent who travelled to Berkshire and feels they played their part in earning a hard-fought point.

He added: “There’s not many clubs on a Sunday afternoon with 4,000-plus people following. We gave our supporters something to share. I think our supporters really helped us in the last five or ten minutes when we saw our legs get more and more heavy to get that point.

“They are pushing us and that’s what we need and I was so happy to see that whole stand full on a Sunday afternoon. That is not normal. I said to the players: ‘Don’t take that support for granted.’

“Because wherever you go or do in your life, I don’t think you will get many better supporters than that.”