Patrick Bamford has shed light on the conversation he had with Georginio Rutter just before Leeds United’s win over Norwich City.
Bamford was absent from Leeds’ squad for both legs of the play-off semi-finals against the Canaries, having picked up a knee injury back in April in the win at Middlesbrough.
In what is an inexperienced squad, Bamford is certainly one of the more senior players at 30 and therefore wanted to ensure he had something to offer off the pitch, if he couldn’t be on it.
Rutter had been struggling for form and confidence prior to Thursday night, failing to register a single goal or assist since the win over Millwall before the international break.
Some fans were even calling for Rutter to be dropped after his performance in the first leg, where he was tasked with leading the line for the first time since December.
Bamford shares details of pre-match Rutter chat
There wasn’t a single player off the pace in the 4-0 victory over Norwich and so as such, Rutter looked somewhere close to his best once again.
Not only did he get back on the scoresheet with an emphatic close-range finish, but he also completed an impressive six of eight attempted dribbles.
Bamford was discussing what it was like being in the stands for the game on the latest episode of the ‘My Mate’s A Footballer Podcast‘, where he spoke of his main pre-match focus being on Rutter.
Bamford revealed that he was keen to ensure Rutter was feeling as confident as possible after such a difficult run, but could tell even before speaking to him that he was feeling confident.
He said: “All I was concentrating on before the game was chatting to Georgi. Rutter has been having a little bit of a tough time over the last few weeks after he’s had the surgery.
“I was just saying to him before the game, trying to big him up and say what I felt like he’d want to hear just to put him in the right mindset.
“Honestly, whether I spoke to him or not, I don’t think whether I spoke to him or not if it even made a difference. I know what he’s like when he makes a mistake, he’s a young lad, he beats himself up big time.
“He can get in a vicious circle where he makes a mistake and tries to do something better to overcome that mistake, but then makes another. I was chatting to him before the game and making sure, but I could see the way he was. He was confident, ready to go and happy.”
Rutter statistics show he was at his best
The first leg was arguably Rutter’s worst performance of the season and so it would be fair to say no one could’ve foreseen what he produced at Elland Road.
When he is completing as many dribbles as he did, that is when he is at his best. In contrast, he had just one successful dribble on Sunday.
Rutter also managed to create one key pass, won seven ground duels, and nearly netted a second goal shortly before the break, but for some incredible thinking.
Hopefully he is somewhere close to this level again at Wembley with another 10 days to properly recover under his belt.