LEEDS owner Andrea Radrizzani has publicly criticised the club's players following their slide out of Championship play-off contention.

Radrizzani, who completed his 100 per cent buy-out of former owner Massimo Cellino in May, has questioned the players' commitment after seeing a promising start to the season evaporate.

"We give them everything possible to just focus on the football – as a club we support them in everything," said the 43-year-old Italian.

"We gave them long-term contracts, we supported them in pre-season going on a camp in Spain, we did everything they wanted.

"But we didn't get back their commitment, their passion and spirit, particularly in the game, a really important game when we played really poorly against Middlesbrough.

"For me it was the bottom of the season because there was no commitment, no passion, no spirit."

That 3-0 defeat at the Riverside earlier this month came in current manager Paul Heckingbottom's fifth game in charge.

Leeds sacked Thomas Christiansen in early February after a seven-match winless run, while former Barnsley boss Heckingbottom has won just one of seven games since arriving at Elland Road.

Radrizzani said: "I don't want players in my team representing Leeds United with this behaviour. So I hope they can learn and be with me next year, playing better and with more commitment."