Securing Premier League survival would go down as a “massive achievement” for Leeds United, says assistant coach Edmund Riemer, who admits the Whites never do things the easy way.
Leeds can secure safety this weekend should West Ham United lose to high-flying Arsenal on Sunday before they take on relegation rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Monday evening. They can also take themselves over the line if they match or better the Hammers’ result, should the London club earn points.
While it would not mathematically be confirmed, a draw for the Irons would essentially see Leeds over the line given their superior goal difference of 14. The Whites sit on 43 points - a tally with which no team in the 20-team Premier League era has been relegated.
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Riemer - who was stepping in for the unwell Daniel Farke, expected to be fine for Monday, for the pre-match press conference - says Leeds face a “huge” test against a Spurs side who look renewed under Roberto De Zerbi.
He added: “I think in terms of Spurs, they will go for it. I know the manager has managed to get them out of the relegation places. So we are fully aware that we need to be up to it, and we want to maintain our top form.”
Leeds currently sit second in the form table of the last five games - something De Zerbi referenced in his own pre-match press conference. Riemer further paid compliment to the Spurs coach, adding: “I think he has an impact on the players. I think they follow him, what he says, what he wants to do.
“I think he's quite clear and gives [Spurs] the confidence, and you could see what he has managed to do. So they picked up two wins and a draw in the last three games, and got them out of the relegation spots.
“You can see his patterns coming through more and more from week to week, and also the results help to get more and more confidence. And you see it's becoming a different Tottenham team in the last few weeks.”
At the same time, destiny is in Leeds’ hands and many feel they have already crossed the safety rubicon. However, Farke and his staff will only celebrate once it is mathematically confirmed.
“I think it is massive,” Riemer replied when asked what official survival would mean for the club. “If you see our previous seasons, it seems like every season has to be a special season to achieve what we want to achieve.
“So usually you talk about one point per game now, you feel like it might not be enough, and we have now achieved 43 points. It's truly something special, especially if you see what the promoter teams did the last few years.
“Also what Sunderland did was outstanding as well, and especially the form that we picked up in circumstances that we had to come through it to be now with 43 points and still three games to go.
“I think in the form table, we are the second best team at the moment, so it's massive and credit to the players.”