Lees Wants To Stay at Centre Back

Tom Lees urged manager Simon Grayson to keep faith with him in the centre of Leeds United’s defence after rounding off “the perfect week” with a 1-0 win over Portsmouth.The 20-year-old, who agreed a new contract on Friday, followed up the announcement of his extended deal by staking his claim to a long-term role at centre-back.Grayson turned to Lees in a bid to solve the defensive problems which have hampered United all season, and the youngster – fielded at right-back in previous matches – helped Leeds register their first clean sheet of the season.Lees is seen as a major prospect by United and is now under contract until 2015, and asked if he hoped to become one of club’s regular centre-backs, he said: “That’s the ultimate aim for me.“It’s really good to get a chance there but, as I’ve said before, I’ll play wherever the manager wants me to.“I’ve only played one game at centre-half so I’m just hoping to stay in there for the next game. But it’s the perfect way to round off the perfect week.”Danny Pugh’s 14th-minute header was enough to see off Pompey and Lees, who featured at full-back in last week’s 3-3 draw at Brighton, said: “It’s a much better feeling than Brighton. I think the hard work we put in after that paid off.“We were the better side in the first half and the important thing was that we weathered the storm in the second half and got our first clean sheet.
“It’s important, especially for us defenders. That’s all we’re focused on. When you get an early goal it puts the pressure on a bit more because you know that if you keep a clean sheet, you’ll definitely get three points.”