Yorkshire Evening Post 8/8/13 - The opening day highlighted all that is good about Leeds United - Lorimer

Saturday’s win over Brighton at Elland Road was everything that’s good about Leeds United – a big passionate crowd, players showing commitment and a club who are together at every level. I was really proud to be part of it all.
There was one horrible moment when you feared that the build-up and anticipation might fall flat. As Leonardo Ulloa tucked away that early goal I immediately thought, ‘oh dear – huge attendance, 1-0 down, what’s going to happen here?’
Twelve months ago we would probably have caved in but credit to the players for holding their nerve and fighting their way back into the game. The winning goal came with virtually the last kick – and maybe a touch of handball too – but there was nothing lucky about the result. I thought Leeds were the better team in the second half.
What that performance should prove to everyone, most of all the players, is that they’re good enough and brave enough to cope with the largest and most expectant of crowds at Elland Road. That’s one of the biggest positives about Saturday. The question of whether these lads can handle the pressure has been well and truly answered and they should draw a massive amount of confidence from that.
Brighton, in fairness, are a very good side and I’ll be surprised if they’re far from the play-offs come the end of the season. Some of their football was easy to appreciate and they had their chances too. I just felt that Leeds came on strong when it mattered and that spoke very highly of the squad’s fitness.
The reason that managers tell players to fight through to the final whistle is because chances can come at any moment, sometimes deep into injury-time. If you’re sharp and in shape like Luke Murphy was then you’ll be on hand to take them.
I can’t let the weekend pass without a word for our owners who, in fairness to them, were instrumental in bringing a huge crowd to Elland Road.
They made the Brighton game Category C and they’ve put a lot of effort into reducing ticket prices which, when all’s said and done, is a bit of a gamble.
You want to do everything you can to pull people through the gates but at the same time you’ve got to be conscious of keeping your income as high as possible. Everyone did their bit against Brighton – the prices were good and the fans came out in huge numbers. That’s how successful football clubs work.
The improving mood can be seen in so many different ways. I hosted a Lorimer’s Bar event on Monday night and 300 people turned up. I knew as soon as we announced that Brian McDermott was on the panel that the numbers would be high. The fans hung on his every word.
One of the things I like about Brian is his honesty. He doesn’t speak loosely and with certain subjects he keeps his cards close to his chest but if you ask him a fair and reasonable question then you’ll get a straight answer.
It’s no secret that he wants more signings and he didn’t try to pretend otherwise on Monday. Listening to him speak, you could tell that where transfers are concerned, this summer has been a bit more difficult than it might have been. Certainly more difficult than he expected it to be.
I’ve said all along that I think it’s imperative that new players arrive before the transfer window closes and Brian obviously has a plan in mind. But what encourages me is the work he’s done with the existing squad so far.
The feeling at the end of last season – and I took this view too – was that quite a few of the players weren’t good enough. The win against Brighton made me think again. There were only two new signings in Brian’s starting line-up yet we competed with Brighton and got the points in the end. We can definitely mix it with other sides. It’s just obvious that there are areas where we could be better.
From a tough home game we move on to one of the most difficult away matches in the Championship – Leicester City. We always seem to do pretty well down there but I’ve seen highlights of Leicester’s opening-day win at Middlesbrough and they were very accomplished.
Any points gained from the KP Stadium will be points to treasure but it’s nice to be going there with our tails up. And having turned Brighton over, this actually feels like a good time to be going to Leicester.
At the very least I now feel sure that we’ll give a good account of ourselves and bring something back home. Any performance like Saturday’s gives you a chance in this league.

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