Thommo: I'm ready to play my part for Leeds UnitedALAN THOMPSON was not intended to be a squad player at Leeds United, but successful clubs can keep doors closed on even the most decorated professionals.
Thompson was symbolic of the blind commitment made by so many of United's players last summer, and Dennis Wise was set on both signing the midfielder and appointing him as the club's captain from the moment Thompson returned to train with Leeds at the beginning of July.
That Leeds took more than five weeks to tie him down to a one-year term was due entirely to the restraints of administration.
But the natural leader in Wise's ranks has discovered rings of steel around United's first team since his recovery from a calf strain at the end of last month. For their last three matches, Thompson's role has been that of a substitute.
His presence on the bench is the direct result of Leeds' unbridled progress through the first half of the League One season.
The fact that Wise is able to turn to Thompson as a replacement for the injured Jonathan Douglas is a reassuring example of the depth of the squad at Elland Road. Every club is asked to cover for absentees; few are able to turn to as experienced a player as United's captain.
The 33-year-old has not disputed Wise's rigid selection policy, which has kept a short rein on players who are short of fitness this season.
When a muscle strain first struck Thompson in September, he admitted himself that a prolonged absence might make automatic selection unlikely on his return. His comeback on this occasion began in the reserves.
But the resumption of his career at Elland Road has fallen at the perfect time with Douglas' knee injury likely to bar him from United's fixtures over Christmas and New Year.
Thompson said: "I see myself as a key player, but I'm not getting any younger. I'm 34 this week and when you reach that age you need to get fit and stay fit – otherwise you're not a lot of use to the manager.
"I've had a calf strain and a hamstring strain, and they seemed to come along together. There isn't much you can do about that, but it's not great when you've been in good shape through the summer and through the first couple of weeks of the season.
"That's been frustrating for me personally. I needed to get some proper training done, and to get a few games behind me.
"Last season when we were backs-to-the-wall, the manager would have thrown me straight in because you have to take a few risks when you're under pressure like we were.
"But the team's going well this season so the challenge is to get back into the team, not to walk into it.
"You have to earn the right and the lads who are in there at the minute are doing that. This is when the manager asks you to kick on and give him another option. I'm no different to anyone else.
"We've lost two games and drawn a couple so you'll struggle to pick fault with that. A team in that sort of form picks itself. I don't see a place in the side as a given, and nor do any of the players."
For all the concerns over Thompson's condition, the former England international is still seen as the most fluent passer within Wise's sizeable pack of midfielders, and the most creative influence available to United's manager.
His goal against Southend United on the second weekend of this season was the type of free-kick which Thompson has trademarked, placed perfectly into the corner of goalkeeper Darryl Flahavan's net.
His strike at Walsall on Saturday – the effort which earned Leeds a 1-1 draw in the 90th-minute – was altogether less intentional.
His setpiece cannoned against the head of Ian Westlake, producing a deflection which gave Walsall's Clayton Ince no chance of blocking the ball.
The fortuitous nature of the goal left Thompson and Westlake to vie for ownership, but Thompson insisted: "I'll be claiming it. I'm about to turn 34 and when you get to that stage you claim every goal you can.
"But whether it's mine or Westie's, it doesn't really matter. We needed a goal and it's got us a point – a decent point as well.
"It's nice for me to make an impact. It would have been nicer to have come on with the score at 0-0 and to have had the chance to get a winner, but it was important to make a proper contribution.
"I've got a few more minutes under my belt and I need to stay fit now. Who knows wh
at could happen over the next four or five months?
"The older you get, the harder you need to work, and I think every player would say the same. But I've got four weeks of good, hard work behind me and I feel better for it."
United have shifted away recently from what seemed to be a perpetual habit for late goals during the early stages of the season, but Thompson's deflected effort on Saturday was necessary to avoid a third league defeat against a Walsall side who showed visible signs of the confidence gained from two months of fixtures without defeat.
"There's a lot of steel and grit in the team," said Thompson. "You've seen it against Walsall, but I think we showed those qualities right from the start of the season.
"Alright, the goal's come late. But we've done that a few times, and you get your reward for never saying die. We're going to need that between now and May."
http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/leedsunited/Thommo-I39m-ready-to-play.3598829.jp
