Patrick Bamford offers thoughts on first season at Leeds, diving and boo-boys

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Patrick Bamford has been speaking to BBC Sport about his eventful first season as a Leeds United player ahead of the new campaign.

The striker covered the diving incident against Aston Villa in April, getting the supporters back on side and missing out on promotion.

He said of the dive that got him banned for two games: “I regret it. He touched me but I milked it and made a stupid deal of it. I wouldn’t do it again and it’s something I have to learn from.”

“I took a bit of stick last year from the fans. For me it’s an opportunity to prove them wrong and get them on my side. If we’d gone up, I’d have said it had been a great season, missing six months and getting ten goals. But because we didn’t go up, it was a nightmare season.”

Bamford was essentially Marcelo Bielsa’s big striking gamble last term – and he has done well in the second tier with Middlesbrough in the past.

But Bielsa demands high energy and constant running from his whole team, and Bamford doesn’t offer that at all – which meant at times he looked an awkward fit in this Leeds side.

If Bamford stays fit, cuts the histrionics, and gets among the goals, he can endear himself to the Elland Road crowd, but it’s tough to shake the feeling that Kemar Roofe is the superior option right now.