'This club has given me everything' — Pascal Struijk on leadership, loyalty and Elland Road

There's a quiet certainty to Pascal Struijk when he talks about Leeds United. Seven years since arriving from AFC Ajax's academy as a teenager, the Dutch defender has become one of the dressing room's most trusted voices — and, on his day, its captain.

'This club has given me everything,' he says, sitting in the players' lounge at Thorp Arch after training. 'My debut, my highs, my lows, everything. I feel like I owe it to give everything back on the pitch.'

“When you go through relegation and promotion with a club, you understand what it means to the people watching in a completely different way. That never leaves you.”

On captaincy

Struijk has regularly deputised as captain this season, a role he says he doesn't take lightly given the size of the badge on his chest.

'Being captain of this club is a huge responsibility. You're not just representing the eleven players out there, you're representing everyone who has ever pulled on this shirt. I try to lead by example more than words.'

On the club's Premier League return

Asked to reflect on the difference between this Premier League campaign and previous spells in the top flight, Struijk points to a change in mentality within the squad.

'We're not just happy to be here. We want to compete, we want to finish as high as possible. That's the mindset the manager has instilled, and you can feel it in every training session.'