Leeds United have not won a league game at Old Trafford since 1981. Tony Dorigo, a title winner from the club’s last championship season in 1992, says that run will only end if Daniel Farke’s side cut out the errors and start taking their chances.
Forty five years. That is a long time to wait. Generations of Leeds fans have never seen their team win a league match at the home of their fiercest rivals.
And this weekend? It could not be much harder.
Manchester United are flying. Leeds, by contrast, have not scored in four Premier League games and have not won a top flight match since the first week of February. The FA Cup semi final is something to dream about, but the league form is a nightmare.
Dorigo, however, is not giving up hope.
‘It’s going to be very, very difficult’
Speaking to Leeds Live, the former Australia international laid out the challenge in typically honest fashion.
“I think we know it’s going to be very, very difficult,” Dorigo said.
“The rivalry is something else. But at the end of the day, they [Man United] are on a really good run. We desperately need points as well, so we’ll be fighting for our lives.”
The message was simple: no mistakes.
“Anytime we do get our chances, I think our ratio of taking those chances needs to be a bit higher, then we’ll start to convert these draws into wins.”
Leeds have drawn four of their last six league games. The spirit is there. The organisation is there. But the killer instinct? Missing.
Injury crisis deepens
Matters have been made considerably worse by a mounting injury list.
Anton Stach, Joe Rodon and Daniel James are all out for the remainder of April. Gabriel Gudmundsson, Noah Okafor and Jaka Bijol are doubts for the weekend.
That is half a team. Against Manchester United. At Old Trafford.
Farke will need to get creative with his selections. And his players will need to produce something special.
‘Great spirit, great determination’
Despite the daunting task, Dorigo believes in this group.
“Our boys have got great spirit, great determination, and the way they have performed this season has been brilliant,” he said.
“I look at the boys, the way they interact with each other. Got a really good group, so I’m sure they think, you know what, let’s go there and let’s get some points.”
It is the kind of rallying cry you would expect from a man who has been there and done it. Dorigo knows what it takes to win at the highest level. He also knows that on any given day, form goes out the window.
The bottom line
Leeds sit just above the relegation zone with seven games to play. Every point matters. A win at Old Trafford would be worth more than three points, it would be a statement.
But history is against them. The injuries are against them. The form is against them.
Dorigo’s message is simple: cut out the mistakes, take your chances, and see what happens.
If they do that, who knows? Forty five years of hurt has to end sometime. Why not Sunday?
