Simon Grayson has praised former side Leeds and is hoping they can secure promotion back to the Premier League.
The Whites have enjoyed a positive season but were rocked on Saturday, with Coventry winning their Championship clash 2-1.
Daniel Farke's team are now third in the table, one point behind Ipswich and two clear of Leicester.
Grayson has both played and managed Leeds and now, speaking exclusively to GB News via GamingGadgets, he's hailed his old side for their performances this term.
Leeds news: Simon Grayson has praised his old side ahead of their Championship clash with Sunderland
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"Look I'm very hopeful they will do it, it's going to be very tough," he said.
"What with some big teams around them, there's going to be twists and turns. It's about who can handle the pressure now.
"Leeds have been near the top this season and now they've got to handle the expectancy level.
"I'm hopeful they can do that.
"They have a lot more stability now, they've got the San Francisco 49ers and the money now."
Grayson does feel, however, that even though Leeds are financially healthier than before they don't necessarily need to spend large sums - even if they do go up.
He continued: "But it's not just about the money, it's about bringing in the right players and bringing things forward.
"They have to have the right mentality, the right understanding of what it means to play for a club like Leeds.
"I've seen it as a young player and a club but even with the most stability in the world, if you can't handle the big expectancy level at Leeds you can fail.
"I've seen some big talented characters who haven't been able to handle it.
"So I think they'd have learnt from what's happened previously and let's see if they can get the first thing over the line [going up.]"
Farke, meanwhile, admitted he was disappointed after his side's defeat to Coventry.
But he also admitted the hosts deserved all three points.
“First of all congratulations to Coventry,” said Farke.
“They are a really good side with a really good home record. It was always going to be a tricky game.
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Leeds news: Coventry inflicted a 2-1 defeat on Daniel Farke's side over the weekend
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"We started really well into this game, dominated possession, had many good scenes (situations) in their box.
“But when you have such a comfortable start you sometimes lose a bit of aggressiveness and greediness and I got the feeling this was the case especially in the first half.”
He continued: “We dominated against a normally good possession side with 70 per cent possession and had more chances, more shots on target.
“From the statistics, it was a really good away game from us but we didn’t win the decisive duels and this was crucial today.
“The first goal we conceded out of our corner kick on the counter-attack, literally the first time they were in our half if I’m honest and Simms showed more aggression, as did the players who made the first and second contact before he scored to keep the ball in the six yard box.
Leeds news: Daniel Farke wants his side to bounce back against Sunderland tonight
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“It was their first corner kick they scored out of it. We could have been a little bit more smarter and if you give away two goals relatively cheaply then it is always tricky against a really good home side.”
Leeds are next in action against Sunderland on Tuesday night (8pm).
