Patrick Bamford has claimed Leeds United fans turned up outside his home after he missed a penalty during a draw against Newcastle United last season. The striker received "a lot of flak" from supporters as United failed to retain their Premier League status.

Online abuse aimed at Bamford's family prompted the 30-year-old to deactivate his X account, formerly Twitter. Speaking to Joe Wilkinson on the My Mate's a Footballer podcast, Bamford said the supporters' behaviour after the Newcastle clash left his partner Michaela feeling unsafe.

Bamford says he took a lot of criticism for the team's performances after scoring just two goals in 28 appearances last term. Their draw with Newcastle came a fortnight before relegation to the Championship was confirmed.

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The former England international said he received a call from his partner on his way home from Elland Road telling him some people had turned up outside their house. "As I turn up the drive to get in I can't even cross the gate, there's two cars [blocking it]," Bamford said.

"I went to put my window down. As I did, they put their windows up and just started at me. Then the gate opened because my dad had opened it and they drove off.

"I think it was a culmination of the last few weeks. I took a lot of flak for it. The way they expressed it was crazy.

"It goes from conversations with David [Bamford's sports psychologist] about sorting out how I'm feeling to then I've got to deal with [the fact] Michaela doesn't feel safe in her own home.

"I rang him literally straight after that happened. He was like 'how do you feel?'

"I said 'I'm not upset about the abuse, I'm angry that someone's come up to the house'. The club ended up putting security on the house for the night."

Nick Pope saved Bamford's 28th-minute penalty. Had Bamford scored from 12 yards, it would have put Leeds 2-0 up in a match they ended up drawing 2-2. "The situation Leeds were in was a pretty diabolical one - we were looking like we were going to go down, which we eventually did," he said.

"I always had Twitter, until about mid-March. The abuse got so bad - threatening my family and even my little girl."

Bamford says working with a sports psychologist has helped him navigate difficult times and made a big difference to his wellbeing. He has rediscovering his goal-scoring touch, finding the back of the net four times since the turn of the year.

Bamford is expected to play a key role in their promotion push over the coming months. Daniel Farke's men are currently third in the Championship, a point off the automatic promotion positions.