.jpeg?width=1200&auto=webp&quality=75&crop=3%3A2%2Csmart&trim= "'No excuses' - Leeds star's message as safety secured ahead of Spurs - Yorkshire Evening Post")
Leeds United's Premier League status for 2026/27 was secured following weekend defeat for West Ham.
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Noah Okafor insists there is ‘no excuse’ for Leeds United to slow down despite Premier League safety being secured.
Leeds head to Tottenham Hotspur this evening safe in the knowledge they will be a top-flight team next season. The Whites are seven points ahead of 18th-placed West Ham, who have two games to play following their dramatic 1-0 defeat at home to Arsenal on Sunday.
Daniel Farke’s side have taken 12 points from a perfectly-timed six-match unbeaten run to pull clear of trouble. But with three games still to play and six points between themselves and ninth, there is still plenty to play for.
Okafor will miss tonight’s game due to a calf strain, as assistant coach Edmund Reimer confirmed during the week. But the Swiss international insists no one in the squad is starting to plan their summer holidays just yet.
"We can breathe, but there is no excuse to stop", he told Sky Sports ahead of tonight’s trip to Tottenham. "We still have to work hard and improve in each and every aspect of the game. With the last weeks we have shown a good mood, loads of points, and this gives us confidence.
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"In the end we fight for everything because we know this squad has a lot of quality, and this makes life easier when everyone gives 100 per cent. You can enjoy more like this. Everyone is on the boat, on the journey with this team."
There are financial incentives for Leeds to continue their form against Tottenham, Brighton and West Ham, with each position in the Premier League table worth almost £3million. The playing squad will also receive an end-of-season bonus based on where they finish.
Okafor is one of a handful of squad members with an extra incentive, given his hopes of representing Switzerland at this summer’s World Cup. The winger is hoping to be fit in time to face West Ham on the final day.
A run of three goals in as many games saw Okafor nominated for April’s Premier League Player of the Month and he bagged an eighth for the season against Wolves. He’s on one assist too, meaning any kind of contribution at the London Stadium would put him into double figures combined for the first time since 2022/23.
"The main topic for me is to get points for the team," he said. "The team has big energy, a positive energy, a good atmosphere. We find each other, performing very well because we've worked hard for this moment."