Daniel James insists that he will celebrate if he scores for Leeds United against Manchester United on Sunday afternoon.
The Welsh winger was quizzed on whether he would give it to the travelling fans of his former side tomorrow, and he made it clear there was “no hatred” behind his comments.
James has three goals in his last five games, and he will be looking to take that form with him into the match.
Speaking to The Times ahead of the huge showdown, James shared how he would react if he was to find the back of the net.
“Of course, I’d celebrate, I can’t not,” he said. “It’s what the game’s about, a lot of emotion. I’ve got no hatred towards Man United. I left on good terms. I’ve still got a lot of friends there.
“It’s a great feeling scoring. So, of course, I’ll celebrate. I want to score every game. Some players really want to score against their old club, and give it back to the fans. That’s not me. The fans were great to me there. The fans are great there.”
I respect that from James – and I find it weird that some people expect former players not to celebrate against United. Why? Every goal deserves to be celebrated and I respect players who choose not to because that’s also a statement.
The bottom line is you can’t let players celebrating goals annoy you.
There will be plenty of hatred on the terraces, with the old rivalry rekindled in what could be one of the loudest atmospheres at Elland Road in over 20 years.
