Leeds Today: "NOW THE END IN NEAR
Viduka leads hat-trick of departures from United
By PAUL DEWS
LEEDS UNITED were today bracing themselves for a triple exit with striker Mark Viduka heading the Elland Road exodus.
On a day when the United squad returned to pre-season training, Viduka was expected to head north to Teesside for a medical with a view to completing his move to Middlesbrough within the next 24 hours.
Leeds and Boro have agreed a fee - believed to be around �4m - and the Aussie marksman has been involved in lengthy discussions about his personal terms.
Viduka's move to Middlesbrough will save Leeds around �3m a year in a wages.
And Republic of Ireland midfielder Stephen McPhail is set to follow Viduka out of Elland Road.
The 24-year-old, who only returned from honeymoon earlier this week, has agreed personal terms with Barnsley and is set to undergo a medical with the Oakwell club.
McPhail had one year remaining on his existing United contract.
James Milner is also on the brink of joining Newcastle, but the youngster has yet to speak with Bobby Robson and, while the two clubs are understood to have agreed a �5m package, any deal is still some way off completion.
The triple exit would allow new manager Kevin Blackwell to move back into the transfer market.
He can expect a slice of the cash from the potential sale of Milner and will also have additional funding for wages.
Blackwell returned to Thorp Arch today after completing a course at Warwick University and insists the hard work starts now for his players.
Relishing
The new Leeds manager has drafted in eight new faces with the promise of more to come and the United squad had a vastly different look about it when the players were put through their paces for the first time.
Blackwell was relishing the prospect of relishing the prospect of returning to the training ground and, after a 30-minute pep-talk with his players, the hard work commenced.
The new boss insists it is a fresh start and is keen to draw a line under the sand, following last season's relegation.
Said Blackwell: "We went down, but it's gone now. It was a season which culminated in us hanging on for as long as we could by our fingertips before we finally went down.
"But that's it now. It's over, in the past, and we're starting again.
"We had to change as a club and we're already getting somewhere with that.
"If we hadn't have changed we would have continued to struggle.
"This is the new era and it's important everyone is focused about what lies ahead.
"It's a challenge and everything won't go our way all the time - but it's something I'm looking forward to and I believe the players are too."
Viduka leads hat-trick of departures from United
By PAUL DEWS
LEEDS UNITED were today bracing themselves for a triple exit with striker Mark Viduka heading the Elland Road exodus.
On a day when the United squad returned to pre-season training, Viduka was expected to head north to Teesside for a medical with a view to completing his move to Middlesbrough within the next 24 hours.
Leeds and Boro have agreed a fee - believed to be around �4m - and the Aussie marksman has been involved in lengthy discussions about his personal terms.
Viduka's move to Middlesbrough will save Leeds around �3m a year in a wages.
And Republic of Ireland midfielder Stephen McPhail is set to follow Viduka out of Elland Road.
The 24-year-old, who only returned from honeymoon earlier this week, has agreed personal terms with Barnsley and is set to undergo a medical with the Oakwell club.
McPhail had one year remaining on his existing United contract.
James Milner is also on the brink of joining Newcastle, but the youngster has yet to speak with Bobby Robson and, while the two clubs are understood to have agreed a �5m package, any deal is still some way off completion.
The triple exit would allow new manager Kevin Blackwell to move back into the transfer market.
He can expect a slice of the cash from the potential sale of Milner and will also have additional funding for wages.
Blackwell returned to Thorp Arch today after completing a course at Warwick University and insists the hard work starts now for his players.
Relishing
The new Leeds manager has drafted in eight new faces with the promise of more to come and the United squad had a vastly different look about it when the players were put through their paces for the first time.
Blackwell was relishing the prospect of relishing the prospect of returning to the training ground and, after a 30-minute pep-talk with his players, the hard work commenced.
The new boss insists it is a fresh start and is keen to draw a line under the sand, following last season's relegation.
Said Blackwell: "We went down, but it's gone now. It was a season which culminated in us hanging on for as long as we could by our fingertips before we finally went down.
"But that's it now. It's over, in the past, and we're starting again.
"We had to change as a club and we're already getting somewhere with that.
"If we hadn't have changed we would have continued to struggle.
"This is the new era and it's important everyone is focused about what lies ahead.
"It's a challenge and everything won't go our way all the time - but it's something I'm looking forward to and I believe the players are too."
