Nobody in the Leeds United dressing room is about to disrespect their nearest rivals after some claims this Championship crop is inferior to last season’s. Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton were all good enough to deny the 90-point Whites a promotion spot last season.

Sheffield United, Burnley and Luton Town had been talked down before the season started, while Sunderland, Blackburn Rovers and last year’s returners were given little hope of closing that gap to the Whites. However, with virtually half of the season played, Leeds are three points off the pace and only one point inside the top two.

Captain Ethan Ampadu feels those pre-season assumptions about a weaker second tier are wide of the mark. It was put to him those predictions could be seen as disrespectful or unfair to their rivals.

“One hundred per cent,” he said. “We don't ever want to disrespect someone. If that was the case, the league table would be different, but it’s not right now.

“We're never going to sit here and disrespect anyone, but it's a very competitive league. It always is, every year, no matter who is in the division. Every game is hard, but, for us, it's just focus on ourselves.

“We don't want to focus on last year. We want to focus on ourselves this year and do what we can to achieve our goals.”

Comparing last season with this did not stop there, either. Ampadu was also asked about the difficult run of results Leeds had at this time last season, when they ended 2023 with a 17-point deficit to Leicester at the top of the league.

“If you want to compare it to last year, we're going to aim for the opposite of last year,” he said. “We're going to want to perform better performances and come away with better results.

“I know there's a lot of people talking about stuff away from home, but we understand away from home and home games can be different, but we want to try and make it the same. Still the same game, still play our game.

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“Other teams can try to influence in their different ways, but it's something we're not happy with as a squad and we set ourselves at the highest standards. Whenever we come below that, even just a little bit, we always try and refocus.”

Ampadu was speaking to the media during the club’s annual Christmas trip to see young patients in hospital. This year, the squad visited Leeds General Infirmary. The players spent time talking to the patients, signing autographs and handing out gifts to those who will spend this festive period in the hospital.

“Not just being a captain, but as a team in general, [it’s special] to be here,” said Ampadu. “It's a time of year that should be celebrated with family and, unfortunately, some people spend it here and they’d rather be at home.

“For us to see that, even if we could just put one smile on one of the kids' faces and see how they can interact with their family, it's obviously a very nice thing for us.”

He added: “Everyone's different. Some people are a bit shier than others. It's more about us trying to make them feel comfortable. It's nice to see. We don't really get see some kids being starstruck, but then when you see a Leeds fan you can appreciate how much they like to see us and how it puts a smile on their faces.”