Last week’s win at Scunthorpe took some of the heat off Simon Grayson, but Leeds will need to put in another good performance from a difficult game at Coventry City.
The manager told the official site “It's about turning in consistent performances and picking up consistent results. Coventry will be a difficult game on Saturday. They have good players, a good manager, and they are in good form at the moment. But we'll go there with 6,000 fans behind us and we've done well away from home. We've had a good week in training and we're working hard on the areas where we can improve."
Leeds have no new injury problems coming into this game, but there are plenty of old problems that will limit the manager’s options. Richard Naylor, Sanchez Watt, Shane Higgs and Ross McCormack are all still injured, but Lloyd Sam started his comeback in midweek when he played in a behind-closed-doors game at Blackburn. And of the longer term absentees, Kisnorbo and Parker are still some way from fitness, but Paynter will be considered for a place in the starting line-up after his brief cameo at Scunthorpe.
The game has been given a bit of extra spice made by the comments made by Gary McSheffrey earlier in the week, but Grayson has promised not to get drawn into a war of words with his former loanee. He told the Telegraph and Argus, former Leicester and Aston Villa player Grayson said: "It isn't the first time a player has been disappointed about not signing for a fantastic club like Leeds. I am just concerned with getting the best out of my players when we take on Coventry”.
No, the war of words has been left in the capable hands of Ken Bates, who as usual has been a little more forthright on the subject. "When you go on loan to a club you have a magnificent opportunity. It's a chance to get under the spotlight and the fact of the matter is he was very disappointing. He didn't make an impact. It was down to him not Simon Grayson. If you want to be successful you look in the mirror and ask 'what could I have done?'
But anyway, McSheffrey is out to prove Grayson wrong, in a match that was always going to be a difficult away fixture, as Coventry are fourth in the table after winning their last two matches. Their manager Aidy Boothroyd is becoming a familiar figure in opposition dugouts, after being on the coaching staff at Elland Road earlier in his career. He was of course the Watford boss when they beat us in the 2006 play-off final, and he was mentioned as a possible Leeds boss when Mc.Allister was sacked, before Grayson got the job. Instead he went on to help Colchester punch above their weight in League One last season, and so he could keep stalking us he took the chance to move into the Championship with Coventry in the summer.
And despite their lofty position in the table, Boothroyd told their official site that they can’t afford to be complacent tomorrow. “Getting up to fourth at this point in the season is not particularly hard in comparison to staying there. We've got to not get carried away because there is still a lot of football to play this season," he said. We are firmly focused on Leeds United and nothing else at the moment because if you don't respect teams like that then they will beat you so we need to make sure we are right. Leeds have carried momentum with them this season after getting promoted last year and they will expect to be up and around the league table because that is the nature of the club. My time at Leeds was brilliant because I learned a lot about expectancy from the club and the fans and I learned a lot about myself as well and what I wanted to do in my career.”
Coventry will be helped by an improving injury situation, as striker Freddy Eastwood, is back in the Coventry squad after a knee injury has kept him out of the side since August. Full-back Chris Hussey, who has been out with a broken foot, also returns to the frame, but Gary Deegan (ankle) will miss the rest of the season.
A draw would be a good result for Leeds in this game, and I think we’ll get one. Mc.Sheffrey will obviously get plenty of stick from the formidable Leeds contingent after his comments, but I think it’s inevitable that he will score against us at some stage during the game.