Boss pride at Valley heroics
leedsunited.com 11/11/13Brian McDermott gives his Valley verdict...
United boss Brian McDermott paid tribute to his players after what he described as an "unbelievable" afternoon at The Valley.
Ross McCormack scored his first professional hat-trick at Charlton on Saturday, and became the first Leeds player since Brian Deane to score four in a game as United emerged 4-2 victors at The Valley.
"Ross got four unbelievable goals ," said the United boss. "Not a lot of people will have noticed, but we changed the formation at half time because their full backs were getting up well. Rudy did a great job on their left back.
"At 2-2 we could have gone under, but I see these guys character-building day-in day-out, and they really dug in.
"Ross scored an unbelievable volley and the last goal was top, top drawer. You get him into areas where he can score...
"I was proud of him, Michael Brown, Danny Pugh, the lads at the back...Paddy Kenny made two match winning saves in my opinion. Danny Pugh hadn't started a game all season and comes in and does that.
"Charlton played some decent stuff at times - you expect to be under pressure away from home. They hadn't conceded in a couple. I thought it was a fantastic performance."
The boss also paid tribute to referee Keith Stroud, who inspected the pitch on two occasions and moved the kick-off back by 30 minutes to allow the sodden Valley pitch additional time to dry before allowing the game to go ahead.
"I have to be honest and I wasn't convinced we would play when we got to the ground," said the boss. "I'd watched the rain come down here since Friday and I was concerned.
"But the referee showed great calmness and patience before the game and he deserves credit for making the right decision in the end."