Leeds United supporters have been pretty deflated in the Transfer Tavern this week after seeing their side suffer successive home Championship losses at the hands of Sheffield United and Derby County to subsequently fall out of the division’s play-off places.

Thomas Christiansen’s men were top of the league back in September after winning five and drawing the other two of their opening seven league games, but things haven’t quite gone to plan since then for the Yorkshire giants having picked up just six points from six matches prior to the two aforementioned clashes. But things haven’t got any better for the Whites as Chris Wilder’s Blades secured a 2-1 success at Elland Road on Friday night, and Gary Rowett’s Derby won by the same scoreline just five days later to inflict a sixth defeat on Christiansen’s team, all of which have come in the last eight games.

Thus, our resident Leeds fans have been very quiet in the Tavern this week and many are already placing huge importance on their trip to Brentford on Saturday, knowing that victory could be the platform for further success after the international break.

However, the pressure is certainly building on head coach Christiansen, with the former APOEL chief pretty much having had most things go his way during his stint in charge at Elland Road, but now things are certainly proving more troublesome.

And there has even been some talk in the Tavern about whether he is the man to get them out of this rut, and here are THREE reasons why they should stick with the 44-year-old…

Huge turnover of players over the summer

There was much change at Leeds over the summer, not just in terms of Christiansen replacing Garry Monk as manager, but in terms of the huge turnover of players at the Yorkshire club.

No fewer than 16 players came through the door at Elland Road during the close season, while a whole host of stars also left the club, most notably Liam Bridcutt, Charlie Taylor, and Chris Wood.

And it doesn’t matter who you are, it is always going to take a bit of time embedding those new faces into the squad and thus the first team, especially when you consider that Kyle Bartley also didn’t make his move permanent, so his and Wood’s departure has left a huge void through the spine of the side.

Yes, they made a fast start, but an overhaul like the one they had in the summer is always going to take a lot of time to get right to understand what works and what doesn’t.

And Christiansen deserves plenty more time to get it right at Elland Road.

Where has sacking managers got Leeds in recent years?

Last season was the first time in a while where Leeds had real stability under Garry Monk, and it’s no coincidence that they then recorded their best finish in six years as a result.

Last season, their on-the-pitch efforts were doing all the talking as opposed to their off the field matters, which had blighted and overshadowed the club in the many years previous.

No fewer than 12 men have taken over the reins at Leeds since Simon Grayson was sacked back in February 2012, and only three of them (Neil Warnock, Brian McDermott, and Monk) lasted more than 50 games in the job.

And where has it got them? They are still a Championship club, and up until last year hadn’t threatened a return to the Premier League.

Stability is needed at Elland Road – they gave Monk a chance last season after his torrid start, and they ended up just missing out on the play-offs. They must afford the same opportunity to Christiansen this time round.

Still seventh and very much in promotion contention

Yes, their recent run of form has been particularly poor, having lost five in six and six of their last eight games, but they are still very much in promotion contention.

Leeds sit seventh in the Championship with 23 points from their 15 games, which is just two points shy of Derby County in sixth, and only eight adrift of Cardiff City in the second automatic promotion spot. It’s hardly a crisis.

And when you consider that Christiansen inherited a side that struggled at the rear end of last season and certainly would have needed picking up over the summer, several Leeds fans would likely have taken seventh at the end of October (for what it’s worth, the three defeated play-off teams from last season, Fulham, Reading, and Sheffield Wednesday, are all in the bottom half).

The Championship is a tough league, every side goes through tricky spells. Aston Villa have already had one, as did Derby and Middlesbrough, and Leeds have shown in the early stages of this season that they are a good side under Christiansen.

They will stop the rot sooner rather than later.