Brentford captain Pontus Jansson insists there can be no room for sentiment as he targets a victory that would relegate former club Leeds.
Leeds head to the Brentford Community Stadium for their final Premier League game of the season on Sunday knowing that defeat would condemn them to the Championship.
The Yorkshire outfit, where Jansson spent three years before joining the Bees in 2019, are in the relegation zone and need to better Burnley’s result against Newcastle to survive.
That puts centre-back Jansson in an awkward position, having been a popular figure at Elland Road before falling out with former manager Marcelo Bielsa, but the Swede is focused only on his job.
“For a few years, when people thought about Leeds, I was ‘the’ player,” said Jansson in an interview to be published in Sunday’s matchday programme.
“Now they have Kalvin Phillips, he’s their cult hero, but back then I was that type of player for them.
“Leeds is my past, I will always respect them and I will always follow them, even if the way I left wasn’t the best. I still have many friends there.
“Leading up to this game, there will be a lot of questions about me and Leeds. I want to win this game, 200 per cent. I want to win no matter what.
“Of course, I’d prefer that they were already safe, but we want to win this game and finish as high as possible.”
Brentford are looking to wrap up an impressive first season of Premier League football with a victory that could take them into the top half of the table.
Thomas Frank’s side have won seven of their last 10 games to banish any fears they could have got sucked into the relegation battle after a poor run through the winter.
Midfielder Frank Onyeka, who has been out since March with an ankle injury, is hoping to prove his fitness to feature.
