Yorkshire Evening Post 26/11/10
Safety is our first target – Grayson
Simon Grayson today insisted he would not give serious thought to whether Leeds United can sustain a push towards the play-offs until his team have secured Championship survival.The Whites boss claimed the majority of clubs in the division were still credible contenders for a top-six finish with 18 games played and a bottleneck of clubs behind his own in a congested league table.
Leeds will meet one of them, Brian McDermott's Reading, at the Madejski Stadium tomorrow and the Elland Road club are defending a top-six position after holding on to fifth with a 1-1 draw at Norwich City last weekend.
United are more than halfway towards achieving the total of points likely to be needed to protect them from relegation in May, but their manager is not ready to assess the likelihood of Leeds maintaining their current standing, despite a five-game unbeaten run and the surge in momentum behind his squad.
"I'll think about that when we've got the points we need to stay up," Grayson declared. "I'm not going to think about it until we're mathematically safe from dropping out of the league.
"Three-quarters of the division will still think they can achieve promotion, automatically or via the play-offs.
"But it's not as if we're struggling in the division or failing to come to terms with it. Far from it. If that was the case we'd be near the bottom and asking how we're going to get out of trouble.
"We've adjusted well and we're playing some decent football. We've proved that we can win home and away, against teams at the top of the table and teams at the bottom, so we've got an opportunity. But we'll need to maintain this level of performances."
United's league position has recovered rapidly in the past month after a succession of poor results in October pulled the club into the bottom half of the Championship.
Leeds are three points better off than Reading with 28 to their name, and Grayson promised to send his side out at the Madejski Stadium with the same attacking strategy employed at Norwich last Saturday. But he also warned that the discipline of his players would be crucial as they attempt to negate a key threat in Reading's side, former Leeds defender Ian Harte.
The full-back is fighting to overcome a hip injury in time to start tomorrow's game but Grayson is keenly aware of the threat that Harte might pose from set-pieces if his players give the Irishman the opportunity to attack their goal.
Harte has scored six times already this season, and Grayson said: "He's probably one of the best free-kick takers around. He always has been.
"We need to make sure we don't give away needless free-kicks or present him with any opportunities. If we can keep him 30 or 40 yards from goal then that will limit his ability to do anything with set-pieces. He's an expert."
Safety is our first target – Grayson
Simon Grayson today insisted he would not give serious thought to whether Leeds United can sustain a push towards the play-offs until his team have secured Championship survival.The Whites boss claimed the majority of clubs in the division were still credible contenders for a top-six finish with 18 games played and a bottleneck of clubs behind his own in a congested league table.
Leeds will meet one of them, Brian McDermott's Reading, at the Madejski Stadium tomorrow and the Elland Road club are defending a top-six position after holding on to fifth with a 1-1 draw at Norwich City last weekend.
United are more than halfway towards achieving the total of points likely to be needed to protect them from relegation in May, but their manager is not ready to assess the likelihood of Leeds maintaining their current standing, despite a five-game unbeaten run and the surge in momentum behind his squad.
"I'll think about that when we've got the points we need to stay up," Grayson declared. "I'm not going to think about it until we're mathematically safe from dropping out of the league.
"Three-quarters of the division will still think they can achieve promotion, automatically or via the play-offs.
"But it's not as if we're struggling in the division or failing to come to terms with it. Far from it. If that was the case we'd be near the bottom and asking how we're going to get out of trouble.
"We've adjusted well and we're playing some decent football. We've proved that we can win home and away, against teams at the top of the table and teams at the bottom, so we've got an opportunity. But we'll need to maintain this level of performances."
United's league position has recovered rapidly in the past month after a succession of poor results in October pulled the club into the bottom half of the Championship.
Leeds are three points better off than Reading with 28 to their name, and Grayson promised to send his side out at the Madejski Stadium with the same attacking strategy employed at Norwich last Saturday. But he also warned that the discipline of his players would be crucial as they attempt to negate a key threat in Reading's side, former Leeds defender Ian Harte.
The full-back is fighting to overcome a hip injury in time to start tomorrow's game but Grayson is keenly aware of the threat that Harte might pose from set-pieces if his players give the Irishman the opportunity to attack their goal.
Harte has scored six times already this season, and Grayson said: "He's probably one of the best free-kick takers around. He always has been.
"We need to make sure we don't give away needless free-kicks or present him with any opportunities. If we can keep him 30 or 40 yards from goal then that will limit his ability to do anything with set-pieces. He's an expert."
