Leeds United Australia diary day four: Fans treated, moving on and a brilliant tattoo

Leeds United are approaching the end of their first week in Australia and they are preparing for their second leg of the pre-season tour in Brisbane. They got their time Down Under off to a winning start on Thursday night by beating Brisbane Roar 2-1 and they’re now getting ready to take on Aston Villa at the Suncorp Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Here’s what happened on day four of the Whites’ trip to Australia.

After seeing off Brisbane on Thursday night at the Cbus Super Stadium, a few members of the Leeds squad and Jesse Marsch made the journey up to Brisbane for a fan event at the Pig and Whistle Pub, organised by kit manufacturers Adidas and club sponsors JD Sports. Illan Meslier, Liam Cooper, Dan James and new signing Rasmus Kristensen were the players picked to attend and they seemed to enjoy themselves as they took part in a question and answer session with supporters.

Laughs were had as Liam Cooper pretended to lift the diminutive Dan James onto his seat on stage and the crowd hung on every word said as the quintet spoke open and honestly about last season’s relegation battle, their trip to Australia and their aims and targets for the new season. Club captain Cooper opened up on the stress he went through last season, while Kristensen talked about the biggest setbacks he has been forced to overcome throughout his career, including being dropped by Marsch at Salzburg.

Fans were then invited up to the stage for an autograph, a chat and a photo with their favourite stars. There were around 150 fans inside the pub and many were associated with an Australian supporters’ group.

The club have hosted a couple of events for supporters so far and they’ll continue to engage with their antipodean friends over the course of