Ethan Ampadu perfectly summed up the attitude in the Leeds United camp as he geed up his teammates prior to Monday’s clash with Tottenham Hotspur.
Leeds headed into the contest in North London already mathematically assured of Premier League safety after West Ham United’s 1-0 loss to Arsenal on Sunday.
Daniel Farke‘s men have achieved their main target for the season, but finishing as high up the table as possible will now be the aim.
And the Whites certainly showed no signs of slowing down as they battled to a 1-1 draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
As the dust settles on that well-earned point with Spurs, an unseen moment has now emerged.
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Ethan Ampadu leads by example
Ampadu has been superb for Leeds all campaign long, having led by example with the captain’s armband.
There are fears Ampadu could leave Leeds before long should a team higher up the proverbial food chain come calling.
The Wales international was to thank for United’s equaliser in the capital as he put his head on the line when caught by Mathys Tel for the penalty that Dominic Calvert-Lewin converted.
As the image below shows, there is no question whether he was actually caught by Tottenham goalscorer Tel.
Ampadu was never going to let his Leeds side roll over, as epitomised before a ball was even kicked.
As flagged by Graham Smyth in his off-camera moments piece for the Yorkshire Evening Post, Ampadu could be see “geeing up the starting outfield players” during the warm-ups.
It is said that Ampadu showed no signs of taking it easier with Leeds safe, which could be seen in the performance.
Ampadu leads the way at Leeds in multiple metrics
Ampadu has played the most minutes of any Leeds player in the Premier League this season with 2,939 in total.
Pascal Struijk is next on that list with 2,846, followed by Joe Rodon and Jayden Bogle with 2,771 and 2,716 respectively.
The 25-year-old has nine yellow cards to his name, which is four more than any other Leeds player this campaign.
Ampadu is also near the top for a number of defensive aspects, though it is arguably an intangible one he is most important at, and that is his leadership qualities.
Long may that continue for Leeds United now that Premier League safety is in the bag.