Leeds legend Mike Shelley will be keeping his "fingers crossed" that his hometown club can avoid the drop.
Former skipper insists Carnegie can upset the odds
Leeds legend Mike Shelley will be keeping his "fingers crossed" that his hometown club can avoid the drop.
Carnegie currently find themselves adrift at the bottom of the Aviva Premiership table - one point adrift of Newcastle and with a vastly inferior points difference.
That means Leeds will need to pick up at least two more points than Falcons from the final round of fixtures on Saturday if they are to beat the drop.
And with both sides facing play-off chasing side - Leeds travel to Northampton, while Newcastle tackle Bath - it is going to be tough for both sides.
However Shelley, who spent 10 years at Leeds before moving to Canada where he is now the national academy manager and Under-20s coach, is confident the Headingley club can defy the odds.
"I will be keeping my fingers crossed," he told
skysports.com.
"I can't see Newcastle getting anything from their trip to Bath so it will be down to Leeds to go Northampton and get the result.
Disappointing
"It is going to take something special but I think that they can do it although they will have to work so hard."
Leeds being involved in a relegation battle is nothing new - with Shelley having been caught up in his fair share of close shaves before the club dropped out the top-flight in his final season.
And the former prop, who skippered Leeds for four seasons, admits the club can't afford to keep finding itself in the same position.
"The current situation is disappointing," he admitted.
"However five out of the six seasons that I played in the Premiership with Leeds it was a struggle, so it is frustrating that the club are still in that rut.
"It is a tall order to stay up now but if they do beat Northampton and Newcastle lose then the club will really need to have a long look at itself.
"If they go down then they will have to regroup and rebuild."
