United can seal safety with Kish
WITH the extension of Radostin Kishishev's loan deal yesterday, the battle line for Leeds United's Championship run-in was immovably drawn.
Ensuring Kishishev's involvement until the end of the season was the most important transfer issue remaining on Dennis Wise's agenda after a year of unrelenting recruitment, and the job of remoulding the present squad at Elland Road is, for now, at a standstill.
Later this month, Wise may attempt to extend the temporary agreements that have brought Lubomir Michalik from Bolton and Michael Gray from Blackburn, and Gray in particular will leave over Wise's dead body.
The full-back entered United's trenches on Friday night and attacked Preston, defensively and offensively, with startling energy. His previous first-team appearance had come no fewer than 97 days earlier.
But it is the retention of Kishishev, himself a peripheral Premiership player, that will matter most to Wise at the end of a rousing month.
The midfielder's welcome to Elland Road was somewhat frosty, introduced as he was during a 3-2 defeat to Sheffield Wednesday, but his quiet influence and industrious contribution has assisted United's first show of respectable form this season.
The standard of Jonathan Douglas' performance against Preston on Friday evening – perhaps his most competent in a Leeds shirt – was an indication of the balance which Kishishev has provided in a midfield that has been hopelessly disjointed and unsettled since Leeds opened their campaign against Norwich City.
Douglas was typically aggressive and prevented North End from exploiting the little possession they had, but the space afforded to him on and around the halfway line was a rare pleasure, and a revealing sign of the understanding that United's partnership in the centre of midfield are developing.
Kishishev's game is not without flair, but his reliable grasp of football's basics, and his ability to lift pressure from players around him, has been of greater value to Leeds.
It will worry Wise to remember that Douglas is one booking short of a three-match ban, a tightrope that he has walked carefully since his yellow card against Luton at the start of last month.
Wise would sooner see his captain risk suspension than withdraw to the fringes of United's fixtures, but the potential loss of Douglas is perhaps the biggest threat to a line-up that should now be settled.
It has taken Leeds until five weeks before the end of the season to find an effective formula, and Wise's praise of his players on Friday evening was almost the sound of a satisfied man.
"We're very confident with the team we've got now," he said.
"It's been tough doing it. We've had a lot of injuries, a lot of people missing and a lot of changes. It's been difficult times.
"They've kept themselves going and they believe in what they have to achieve.
They want to save Leeds from going down."
Wise ordered several of his players into Thorp Arch for training on Saturday before resuming his work with the full squad yesterday, but Friday's performance was the essence of commitment.
Kishishev and David Healy fought through 90 minutes having been rushed into domestic service 48 hours after international duty in midweek.
Gray, meanwhile, performed in a manner which spoke volumes about his and Blackburn's approach to personal fitness at Ewood Park.
Wise described Gray as a "good player" after the victory over Preston, which might have been the understatement of the night.
The full-back already seems like a crucial link in a position that has troubled Leeds all season.
According to comments from Ken Bates in United's matchday programme, Leeds were given – and rejected – the chance to sign Gray last summer, when Kevin Blackwell was in charge.
Wise said: "He did very well. He's a good player.
"I've been chasing him for a little while. There are a couple of players who you chase but you have to wait for. Kish was another one.
"We target certain players, and we nearly signed Lubo (permanently) but unfortunately he was whisked off to Bolton.
"These are players with a lot of quality about them, and who can help Leeds United."
From the wider perspective in English football, the club's situation seems to depend on Healy more than anyone.
The Northern Ireland forward returned to the starting line-up on Friday after three games on the bench, and it is inconceivable that he will be overlooked during the final six games of the season with so much outside attention on the striker and Leeds.
Wise admitted Elland Road had been a "madhouse" after Healy's dramatic winner over Preston, but his desire to return calm to a pulsating club will be hampered by a rush on tickets for this weekend's game at home to Plymouth Argyle.
Saturday's crowd is expected to reach a capacity of around 31,000 – Leeds have decided against opening the upper tier of the East Stand – and produce their biggest attendance of the season, surpassing the crowd of 29,593 that saw February's midweek draw with QPR.
Wise said: "Let's come down now.
"We've got work to do and a couple of games coming up which are very important to us."
Kilde: YEP (
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