As it was in the first meeting of the clubs in November, the only goal came from someone called Austin, but thankfully this time it came from our own Randy rather than Burnley’s Charlie.

The crowd was distinctly sparse apart from on the Kop with the attendance being a disappointing 16,788, with Burnley bringing about a thousand (at the most) to help to make up the numbers. But those who stayed away missed a very enjoyable game, with a feeling of optimism starting to seep back into Elland Road and much love for our new manager Brian McDermott.

There were a couple of changes after Saturday’s very welcome victory over Sheffield Wednesday, with Varney promoted to the starting line-up in place of the injured Morison, while Lees was back after suspension and replaced Drury, with Warnock moved across to his regular slot at left-back. I thought Aidy White might have got a run on the left side of midfield, but he had to make do with a place on the bench.

From the start Leeds were intent on playing decent football, and the players were obviously enjoying playing for their new manager. It didn’t seem to matter that they’d had less than a week to get used to a completely different style of football, and Austin and Warnock in particular seemed determined to harry the opposition and get the tackles in.

If anything Burnley had the greater need to get a result, being one of that large group of clubs in the bottom half who are sitting just a couple of points above the relegation zone. They showed plenty of resolve themselves and enjoyed a fair amount of possession in the early stages, with their best effort being a shot from outside the box that flashed narrowly wide of the post.

The closest we came in the first half was a header from Pearce which was cleared off the line, before Varney header from the rebound clipped the top of the bar. Apart from that we hadn’t created too many opportunities, but McDermott refused to panic and we carried on with the passing game as we began the second half.

The second period began with a shocking miss from Varney, who blazed well wide from close range, but the linesman spared his blushes with the offside flag, so it wouldn’t; have counted anyway. Our self-appointed new talisman went closer a few minutes later, but was denied by a fine save by Lee Grant.

But our goal finally arrived in the 63rd. minute. An excellent ball from Diouf found Austin making a late run into the box unchallenged by the Burnley defence, and he kept his head to slide it past Grant into the corner of the net.

Leeds continued to play good football, as a surprised and delighted crowd sang “we’re Leeds United, we’re passing the ball!” We were still in control of the game, but once or twice wasted promising moves by sending crosses far too deep, and the nearest we came to adding to our lead was a McCormack free kick that wasn’t far wide.

As the game wore on we seemed to fall back on defence, as Burnley pressed forward in search of a point that would help to ease any remaining danger of relegation, and I started to worry that we might concede yet another late equaliser. Their best move came when I thought Austin had been fouled in the build-up, and it took a couple of last-ditch tackles before we finally cleared the ball to safety.

But I needn’t have worried, as we held on comfortably for our second win in four days, before the crowd went home very satisfied. We’ve still got a mathematical chance of the play-offs, as Bolton and Forest both had the decency to lose, but this now depends on Leicester getting no more than two points in their final three games. So that’s not going to happen, but if the new boss gets the backing he needs in the summer it might almost be worth getting excited about next season.

Photo: Action Images

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