‘Murder-ball’ has got Leeds United ready to finish the job, says Kalvin Phillips

However, there will be no taking promotion for granted, as he feels the Whites may have done last season when they missed out in the play-offs.

Some managers, including Sheffield Wednesday’s Garry Monk, have complained second-tier players will not have enough training to play competitively on June 20 but a couple of games of Marcelo Bielsa’s infamous “murder-ball” have put Phillips’s mind at rest, if not his body.

Phillips’s midfield colleague Mateusz Klich has described “murder-ball” as: “Basically playing 11 v 11 with no stops, constantly running around and sprinting, and you have all the coaches on the pitch basically screaming all the time. Even if the ball goes out, there’s a member of staff waiting with another ball.”

Leeds have had two such workouts since returning to contact training last week.

“We had one on Thursday and one on Saturday,” revealed Phillips. “It’s a good guideline for us because we haven’t played football for so long.

“We were concerned that if we’re not fit enough or we’re not right, it’s not going to go well for us but I think when we do get to these ‘murderball’ sessions, having worked hard throughout the pandemic, we can see where we’re at and I believe we are ready to start the games now and finish the season.”

Finishing the season is important for Championship leaders Leeds, who not only want to win promotion but do so in the right manner. There was a time when Phillips wondered if they would get the chance.

“We didn’t get a clear answer (on whether the season would restart) until recently but we all knew as players the massive opportunity we’ve got and we couldn’t take anything for granted like we did last year,” he said.

“It’s a very different situation to last year and if anything we’re a lot stronger than we were before the break.

“There was a time two, three weeks into lockdown where not much had been said and we didn’t really know what was going on. I personally didn’t think we were going to start playing football until next year but I’m just glad we’ve come together as a league and said we can carry it on.”

Being on the verge of such a momentous achievement – Leeds have not played Premier League football since 2004 – has ensured no complacency in lockdown, according to Phillips.

“We know we need to keep fit to keep our standards high,” he said. “The club brought us bikes to our houses before it (the lockdown) all happened, gym equipment as well. We maybe had one or two days off but we always had days in the week where we were always working.

“If anything, I’m probably fitter and stronger than I was before the pandemic.

“I missed the last couple of games with a sore knee. The first week or so (of lockdown) gave you time to recover.

“When you’re training around mannequins and cones you get a little bit bored of it. It’s good to be around some of the lads and working as you were before.”

Asked how he learned he was allowed back to Thorp Arch, Phillips explained: “It was literally over WhatsApp. We’d had a few phone calls. The manager is very strange in the way he works, he doesn’t come to you personally he just goes through his staff. They got in touch and said we had a certain group of a few players who would train at this time, we’re not allowed in the building, we’ve got to turn up to training ready to train and then respect all the guidelines.”

When Leeds return, with a provisional date of June 20 for their trip to Cardiff City, it will be to stadiums closed to fans, but Phillips has no concerns about that.

“It’ll be strange, we know that,” he said. “It’ll be like a training session, I’d say, just against different people.

“The fans are a massive boost to us but if the fans aren’t there we know how to motivate ourselves and push ourselves on to do well without them there.

“It’s very difficult and very hard but we need to start where we left off and I think the only way to do that is by coming back fitter and stronger.”

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