Daniel Farke claimed his current Leeds side is better than last season’s after a 3-0 home win over Luton lifted them back to the top of the Championship.
Sam Byram’s flamboyant scissor kick gave Leeds an early lead and Joel Piroe added a second in first-half stoppage time before substitute Daniel James’ neat lob completed the scoring in the 81st minute.
Farke, whose side were beaten by Southampton in last season’s play-off final, was full of praise for his current crop, but challenged them now to prove they are better over the course of a whole season.
Leeds sold star players Georginio Rutter, Crysencio Summerville and Archie Gray in the summer and Farke said of their replacements: “They were more or less bargains.
“But I have to say, when you compare it right now with last season, in terms of points, statistics, how we dominate, this team is better compared to last season.
“The only problem is only 17 games have been played and I’m only willing to make a comparison after 46 games.
“Last season we had an excellent group. We won 90 points, so I’m far away from being critical, but there is a chance this team could be better.
“But you have to prove it over a long-term period. After 17 games OK, but a long-term period means more than a third of the season.”
Leeds cruised to their sixth straight home win to climb back above overnight leaders Sheffield United, but Farke said there was room for improvement.
He added: “We conceded a chance in the first half and again in the closing stages so in those moments we can be there a bit more.
“A bit more mature and pragmatical to make sure they don’t have any chances, but I don’t want to be too critical today.
“It was pretty close to a really good performance.”
Luton slumped to their fifth straight defeat on the road having climbed out of the bottom three at the weekend after beating Hull.
Under-pressure boss Rob Edwards said: “We came up against a very good team. The frustration for us is we made some very poor decisions.
“But ultimately tonight, it’s probably the most difficult place to come in the Championship at the moment and it looked like that for us.
“If you go after them it opens up more space for them and they get six up on that top line and they’ll find people in those pockets and then there’s trouble.
“We wanted to be aggressive. We couldn’t find our balance. Credit to them. But it’s down to poor decisions.
“We’re not seeing it so much at home, but away from home and when it matters. It’s a conundrum we’ve got to solve.”
