Trundle heldigvis sendt hjem.
http://www.leedsunited.com/page/LatestNewsDetail/0,,10273~1586477,00.html
Grayson praises striker TrundleSIMON GRAYSON has praised Lee Trundle for his brief contribution to Leeds United, insisting the striker's loan at Elland Road was not a disappointment.
Trundle returned to Bristol City on Wednesday at the end of two months on loan with Leeds, and boss Grayson thanked him for filling what he saw as an important role during the 32-year-old's short time in Yorkshire.
Trundle joined United during the early stages of the January transfer window and made 10 appearances for the club, providing cover at a time when leading scorer Jermaine Beckford was carrying a hamstring injury and Argentinian striker Luciano Becchio was increasingly in need of a break from first-team duties.
The ex-Swansea City forward arrived at Leeds with high expectations and a goal on his full debut at Brighton opened Trundle's account quickly, but he failed to add to that effort before his second month on loan at Elland Road ended after Tuesday night's 4-0 win over Yeovil Town.
Trundle did not feature in that fixture and was not involved in either of United's previous matches against Oldham Athletic and Bristol Rovers, and he was kept from the starting line-up by a partnership in Beckford and Becchio which has rekindled the success it enjoyed earlier in the season.
Grayson said: "You need competition for places, and that's all over the pitch.
"What Lee did was give us a good opportunity to bring in a player with quality and experience, especially of League One, and he gave me the chance to give Luciano a breather.
"Luciano played in every game up to Lee coming in and Jermaine had been injured a couple of times. Suspensions were possibly around the corner for certain players so we needed players like (Trundle) in and around the place.
"Lee contributed to us winning matches and scoring goals, especially in his first few games, and we then had the bonus of Luciano coming back. It worked very well.
"We had players looking over their shoulders and knowing that if they weren't performing then they'd be out the team and players like Lee who were on the bench would step into the fold.
"But in the last few games we haven't had the opportunity or the need to put him on and we felt that it wasn't doing him much good being sat on the bench."
Trundle made seven starts for Leeds, his last coming in a 2-0 defeat at Hereford United on a night when his missed penalty was key to a frustrating result sustained by Leeds.
Becchio's impressive return to form and Beckford's completion of a three-match ban last month helped to relegate Trundle to the bench, and Grayson has made deliberate attempts to blood new and inexperienced signing Mike Grella during recent fixtures.
Grella joined Leeds on an 18-month contract at the end of the January transfer window – his first professional deal – and the American striker's outing as a substitute against Yeovil on Tuesday was his fourth for United's senior side.
Scottish winger Robert Snodgrass was also utilised as a striker ahead of Trundle against Cheltenham Town, perhaps displaying Grayson's preference of fielding players who are available to him in the longer term.
Grayson said: "Mike Grella's come to the fore a lot quicker than we expected when we signed him in January.
"He didn't look out of place again when he got a decent run in the game on Tuesday night. We've got three strikers and Snoddy can play in that position as well if we need him to. There might be one or two others coming in as well.
"But when you looked at the squad (before Trundle joined) we had Jermaine and Luciano and that was it. Enoch Showunmi has been out through illness and that was really all we had on the striker front.
"We had to have some options and you can't rely on two strikers to take you through from the start of the season to the end of it. It's not fair on them, and physically and mentally you can't do it.
"Lee contributed to us winning a few matches and I thought he was very good.
"He's contributed to getting us to where we are in the league at this moment in time."
As satisfying to Grayson as the part played by Trundle was the response of Beckford and Becchio to the presence of a proven and highly-rated goalscorer lurking behind them and competing for their places. (.....)
YEP
