Patrick Bamford opens up on his Leeds United abuse, supporters outside his house and security

Patrick Bamford has opened up on the abuse he suffered at points last season with people even turning up outside his house. Leeds United struggled for form and traction in the Premier League last time around and for some, Bamford's struggles on and off the pitch made him a huge figure of frustration.

As such, he unfortunately became a target for supporters on social media with the abuse being so strong that the 30-year-old was forced to deactivate his account and come off the platform. It wasn't just online, though, with people making the decision to park up at the England international's gates on one occasion last season.

The incident followed the loss to Newcastle United at Elland Road in May. Supporter frustration had already boiled over at the ground with one man leaving his seat in the West Stand to confront Eddie Howe on the touchline and while the game finished 2-2, it was a result that did little to help Sam Allardyce's side in their battle against relegation.

Bamford missed a penalty in the first half of the contest and seemingly, that made him a scapegoat in the aftermath.

“The situation Leeds were in was a pretty diabolical one, in terms of we were looking like we were going down which eventually we did," the striker said on his BBC podcast 'My Mate's A Footballer'. "Until then I was on Twitter, not actively Tweeting, until about mid-March. The abuse got so bad, threatening family and even my little girl.

“In the end I came off Twitter and deactivated the account. I did that and I was speaking to David [a sports psychologist] through it all and he said 'just ignore them', and gave me coping ways. I remember we were playing Newcastle at home, I missed a penalty but ironically I played well, it was the game where Big Sam said it shame about the penalty but that was more like what I need from you.

"I got in the car, started driving and there was crazy traffic after the game, I think there was an accident. Michaela (his partner) rang me and she's like 'there’s people outside the house'. I said, ‘what do you mean?’. 'Honestly, they've not moved, they've been sat here for about five minutes'. I should be home in about 20 minutes and I've rang her as I'm coming into the village and she said 'they've not moved, they're just parked outside'.

"As I’ve come up, I was like, 'right, send Dad down the drive now, get him to walk down as I'm coming in'. As I've come into the drive, literally across the drive entrance, I can't even get to the gate, there were two cars blocked.

"They had their windows open, so I was looking and as I went to put my window down, they put theirs up and stared at me. The gate opened because my dad had opened up and they drove off.

"It was a culmination of the last few weeks and everything that had gone on. I took a lot of the flak for it, rightly or wrongly. The way they expressed it was crazy. I've got to then deal with Michaela doesn't feel safe in her own home.

“I rang David straight after that happened and he said, ‘how do you feel’. I was like, ‘like I want to kill someone. I’m not upset about the abuse, I'm angry that someone has come to the house and done that'. The club were good to be fair, they put security on the house for the whole night."