Jeg var litt usikker på det, men....ser ut til at han har en fremtid påp ER!
Staunton: We'll be the team to beat next seasonSteve Staunton.
Published Date: 27 May 2008
By Phil Hay
Steve Staunton looked at Leeds United last summer and saw a club "staring relegation in the face", but his vision this year is of a group of players who will have the whip-hand over League One next season.
The Irishman offered sincere thanks to United's squad following their defeat to Doncaster in Sunday's play-off final at Wembley, describing them as "absolutely superb, to a man", and his anticipation for the 2008-09 campaign is already growing after four months of involvement at Elland Road.
Staunton arrived at Leeds in February to become Gary McAllister's assistant manager, and the two men, along with first-team coach Neil McDonald, were responsible for masterminding the sequence of form towards the end of the campaign which took the club to within one game of promotion.
McAllister inherited a team who had been handicapped by the biggest points deduction ever imposed on a single club by the Football League, and although he rarely discussed the penalty, the effect of those lost points was more tangible than ever after Sunday's defeat at Wembley.
United will have the comparative luxury of starting next season with zero points, and though a second year in League One – a level at which Leeds had never played before last summer – is a depressing prospect for a club whose promotion appeared at times to be fated, Staunton is confident that United can control the division next year.
Staunton said: "It's been an excellent season, and it's a testament to the players that they went as close as they did.
"We've come up short, but the players have been absolutely superb, to a man. I'm disappointed obviously, but it's them I feel gutted for because they've given everything to this season and they've missed out by a tiny margin. Maybe this was one game too far for us.
"But when I think back to the start of the season, Leeds were looking relegation in the face. That's how I saw it. The (15-point) penalty was so big that you didn't think there was any way they could do anything more than try to stay in the division. They've gone way beyond that, and we'll get better next season.
"To be at Wembley at all is a major, major achievement and I hope the players and the fans see it like that. Football's about making progress and if you look back 12 months you can see that this club has come from a difficult position to being healthy again."
McAllister indicated on Sunday that "the core" of United's squad would be retained this summer as he prepares for his first full season as Leeds manager, and he will be anxious to defend his key players from outside offers.
United are in discussions aimed at tying Jonathan Howson to a new contract, and they will also hope to retain striker Jermaine Beckford, despite his 20-goal haul this season.
Beckford, who signed a long-term deal with Leeds last year, was strongly linked with Derby County during the January transfer window and is one of United's most valuable assets.
