TWO successive draws do not exactly raise alarm bells, but after seeing their lead cut at the top of League One from six to two points in the last fortnight Leeds United are back under pressure to come up with a win when they face Southampton at Elland Road on Saturday.
Maybe the players were a little tired after their efforts in the previous week in a rip-roaring derby with Huddersfield then an FA Cup tie against Kettering that required extra-time, but whatever the excuses it was a disappointing 0-0 draw at Brentfo
rd last Saturday.
It showed that there is still plenty of work to be done to achieve the promotion goal, even if Leeds have made a fantastic start in the first half of the season and they cannot afford to let their standards slip in any of their remaining games against sides like Brentford in the bottom half of the table.
Jermaine Beckford and Luciano Becchio both hit the woodwork and okay the hosts had already beaten Norwich at their Griffin Park ground and had drawn with Colchester to show they were no mugs at home, but in failing to find the target and lacking a bit of cutting edge United showed they had not quite got the balance of their team right yet.
Patrick Kisnorbo's return from injury helped tighten up the team at the back again after they had looked leaky against Huddersfield and manager Simon Grayson will now be looking for a regular run in the side from his Australian centre-back with his international commitments over for a while.
Captain Richard Naylor is fit again too and was expected to make his comeback in last night's Johnstone's Paint Trophy tie against Accrington Stanley while goalkeeper Shane Higgs was knocking on the door for a recall after overcoming his injury.
Winger Robert Snodgrass is also available again for this weekend after serving a one-match suspension and as one of United's key players this season he is likely to be brought straight back into the side, although it will be hard luck on Max Gradel, who started at Brentford and has been so impressive since his loan arrival from Leicester.
Southampton are expected to offer stiff resistance as they make the long journey north to renew rivalries with Leeds that goes back to their many encounters in the top flight.
Comparisons between the two are obvious with the Saints this year facing the sort of fight United had after relegation to the third tier. They have not quite been so successful at wiping out their 10-point penalty as Leeds were with their 15-point penalty two years ago, but still have hopes of a play-off spot and have proved themselves to be one of the stronger sides in the division.
In fact they would be in sixth position instead of their current 14th if the penalty for going into administration last term had not been imposed.
Their 3-0 win against Tranmere last Saturday was their ninth in 21 matches and they have lost just four times so far.
