Gaetano Berardi has promised that Leeds will have a much better season in 2015/16.

The Swiss international told Yorkshire Radio “I really think that we will be better next season. I think the new coach is coming with great preparation and great motivation. I have to play like the last month and I’m looking for us to have a good team to go to the Premier League. I came to England not for a joke, I came to England to win the Championship.”

Beradi had a difficult first season at Leeds. He arrived with a reputation as a bit of a hot-head, and didn’t do himself any favours by getting sent of twice in his first four appearances. He then found himself out of favour with Sam Byram restored to the side, but was restored to the side later in the season as Byram was pushed further upfield.

Once he’d learned to stay out of trouble Beradi looked quite dependable, and should be perfectly adequate at Championship level. And I prefer to see Byram playing right side of midfield, where he can give us more options going forward, so I’d be perfectly happy to see Beradi at right-back when we start the new season.

Beradi put his improvement in form down to the need to adapt to English football, along with all the other players who came in from the continent at the same time, although the constant changing of head coach can’t have helped.

“The first half of the season was not very good for all the team but the second half got better for me and for the team. In the first half, I think we had more problems because many new players came in from different countries. The Championship is difficult, it’s more physical than in Italy and every match is much quicker. But I, and the other senior players, had to learn. Then things got better.”

That all sounds promising, but Beradi’s comments confirm that much will depend on whether Leeds can finally enjoy a period of stability behind the scenes next season. We need one or two new players to improve the squad in certain positions, but hopefully we can avoid another big overhaul of the squad now that Cellino has got most of the highest earners off the payroll.

We will also need Il Presidente to let his new ‘head coach’ run the team without interfering or losing patience, which may be too much to ask for, but I think I can feel a certain amount of optimisim seeping back into my veins as I contemplate the season ahead.

Photo: Action Images

Plumbs added 00:18 - Jun 9 Hmm.Cant feel too much optimism seeping into my veins! Good article on Beradi who's been one of the better imports.
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