Leeds United right-back Luke Ayling has admitted that the Premier League newcomers have not set themselves a target ahead of the new campaign getting underway.
The Whites will sample the taste of Premier League football once again a-week-on-Saturday for the first time in more than 16 years when they travel to Anfield to face reigning Premier League title holders Liverpool.
An opening day clash against Liverpool could not have presented a tougher first assignment for the Whites, with the Reds, who were beaten by Arsenal in the Community Shield at Wembley on Saturday, having stormed their way to the title last season in sensational fashion.
Though the prospect of facing Liverpool on the opening day is probably a frightening thought for some, Ayling, who played a key role in the Championship title-winning campaign last term, is excited about what lies ahead, whilst also admitting that Leeds have not discussed what their expectations are for the forthcoming campaign.
“It feels real now, the first time it really felt real was when the fixtures came out,” Ayling told LUTV. "It’s exciting and I can’t wait to get started now.
“Everyone dreams of playing in this league, they will all be hard games, but the boys can’t wait to challenge themselves and see what we can do.
“We’re a very close bunch, we’ve been working hard in this off season to give ourselves the best opportunity and I’m sure the other teams will be looking at us and thinking it will be a hard game as well.
“There are going to be a lot of tough games and we might not be winning all of them like we’re used to, but we are certainly going to be out there trying our best every game.
“We’ve not really spoken about what we’re expecting to do, we’re just going to go out there, work hard, play our football and hopefully get some results.”
Though the Whites were riding high at the top of the Championship table for the vast majority of last season, they did find themselves going through a tricky period at the start of 2020, winning just one of their first seven league games of the year.
But despite being beaten 2-0 by Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, that result, though it seemed damaging at the time, acted as a potential turning point in the club's season, with Ayling issuing a passionate interview after the game.
Ayling added: "I suppose you could say it was a bit of a turning point because we were in a bad run and after that game I think we kicked-on; we drew against Brentford, won five on the bounce and then we went into lockdown.
"After lockdown we were flying so you could say it was a turning point, but I don't think it has come from that interview.
"We were playing okay up until that stage and after that the gaffer gave us a really good meeting ahead of the Brentford game and the boys really took it in.
"I actually watched the interview back after the season had finished for the first time and I did seem a bit down. I think you could tell in my voice with me stuttering a bit.
"I was so angry and when I am angry I stutter.
"There was plenty of hard work that went on behind the scenes to change it. It wasn't that interview."
