Sam Byram is refusing to write off Leeds United’s hopes of sneaking into the play-offs at the last minute.

The highly-rated defender has enjoyed a remarkable npower Championship debut campaign and is the only United player to feature in every match so far.

He has emerged as one of the finest talents outside of the Premier League but overall it has been a disappointing season at Elland Road.

Neil Warnock was recently shown the door but his successor, Brian McDermott, has presided over two wins from as many games since taking charge.

That has left the Whites six points adrift of the play-offs places with three matches remaining – starting at Birmingham on Saturday.

Byram, 19, who has come through United’s Academy, said: “If we can keep playing the way we are playing and get three more wins and the other results go our way you never know what could happen.

“I think the fans really deserve to be back at the top. You can tell how big the club is by the amount of people that travel to the games.”

Warnock gave Byram his chance to shine but he has already been impressed with former Reading boss McDermott.

Byram added: “For me he has been a real positive for the team. You can see in the dressing room after the game the team is on a real high and hopefully we can keep the winning ways up.

“I’ve really enjoyed playing under him. He encourages us to get the ball and pass it, which I like to do.

“I’m always learning. I’ve made mistakes but I’ve done all right in my first season.”