A Leeds United defender has spoken about Sunderland's current form.
Leeds United star Pascal Struijk has admitted Sunderland's impressive rise to the top of the Championship has taken him by surprise.
The Black Cats were not expected to challenge for the league title before the start of the season, but a run of form under new manager Regis Le Bris has taken them to the top ahead of Saturday's visit to Queens Park Rangers. For Leeds, the season has been one of recognition since last season's play-off final defeat at Southampton, with a goal from former Newcastle United striker Adam Armstrong helping the Saints claim an immediate return to the Premier League.
After last weekend's 0-0 draw at Bristol City, Leeds are currently five points clear of the Black Cats - but Dutch center-back Struijk has warned Le Bris and his players that they still have some challenges ahead of them for a long, long time. The season He told BBC West Yorkshire Sport: "We still have high expectations. I'm a bit surprised by Sunderland. They've started well. But this championship is long and very difficult. It's about how we face the challenges during the season, like the injuries now, and how we overcome them and succeed as a team."
Leeds will be hot favorites to seal their promotion push when they host a Plymouth Argyle side who have dropped a point and a place above the drop zone after winning just one of their last five games. Despite the visitors' poor form, Struijk has urged his Whites team-mates to be wary of the threat posed by Argyle striker Morgan Whittaker, who has remained with the Pilgrims despite being linked with a move to the Scottish giants Rangers for the summer transfer window.
He said: "I think we will dominate the ball for most of the game and we have to see what they do defensively. We have to be aware of them on the counter-attack and make sure we take our chances. I know what [Whittaker] likes to do and what he doesn't like so much, I know what are his strengths.
"Everyone should deal with this player, so we have to be ready because he has a lot of attacking quality. You saw last season that he was very involved in the goals. He is a good player and we have to be careful with him. We have to take the control of him and others.
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