Leeds United's Prutton: Buck stops with us
IN the hours after he accepted the invitation to become assistant manager of Leeds United, Dave Bassett received several text messages joking that the club's demise would begin forthwith.
Be it the result of fate or unfortunate timing, their results during Bassett's short tenure have allowed the joke to run unchecked.
Four defeats from seven games have displayed the first cracks in United's facade, and delivered the type of start he must have dreaded.
They also raised the question of whether Gustavo Poyet's departure from Elland Road was more consequential than it seemed.
The suggestion does not stand up to realistic scrutiny yet, in the build-up to tonight's game against Port Vale at Elland Road, Bassett was moved to mount a defence of his contribution just a month after taking the assistant's job under Dennis Wise.
Leeds were troubled by a sudden bout of inconsistency through November, though Wise had long predicted that a problematic period would engulf his squad.
A collection of supporters, however, have been more intent on asking whether Bassett's arrival and United's loss of form were more than coincidental, much to the 63-year-old's annoyance.
"People will jump on the bandwagon," was Bassett's riposte. "I expect they'll be saying that Gus Poyet did all the work behind the scenes and Dennis did nothing before I came. There's some rubbish talked at times, and it's a cheap shot."
If the innuendo has frustrated Bassett, it has positively confused David Prutton. United's midfielder described claims that Bassett's involvement was hindering Leeds as "bizarre", and pointed instead to a series of games in which Leeds have created their own problems.
The club were outplaying Carlisle United at Brunton Park – the scene of Bassett's first appearance in the dug-out – before an inexplicable collapse in the second half brought a first league defeat on November 3, and their 1-0 loss against Cheltenham Town last Sunday came despite the production of 21 efforts on goal.
The fingers pointing towards United's coaching staff do not sit well with Prutton.
"It seems strange to me that people would try and connect Gus going and Dave coming in with our results," he said. "It's nothing more than pure coincidence.
"This is very much a one-man club in the sense that the manager calls the shots and lays out his plans in black and white.
"What he says goes, and there are no grey areas when it comes to tactics, formations or anything like that. It's his team.
"Personally that's what I like because it keeps things simple and uncomplicated. You know who's in charge.
"Dennis and Gus had a special relationship, and I'm sure Dennis and Dave have a special relationship in a different way. But to say that a change of assistants has affected our results is totally bizarre, and pretty unfair.
As far as I'm concerned, the buck stops with the players."
Claims of a downturn at Elland Road have only been relative to the near-flawless form which preceded Bassett's arrival.
United's defeats at Carlisle and Cheltenham are the only black marks on their League One record, and they will resume their season tonight after a nine-day break in fifth position.
Bassett said: "Leeds were due to lose a game, and it was amazing how many texts I got before the Carlisle game saying 'this is it pal, you're going to get the blame'.
"It evens itself out. In over 1,000 games as a manager, I've walked away many times thinking 'how the hell did we win that game'. I've also walked away thinking 'how the hell did we not win that game'.
"The fans would have liked us to have won every game but logically that doesn't happen.
Bury and Hereford United have both claimed unexpected victories at Elland Road during the past fortnight, but Port Vale's prospects of an upset this evening are especially slim.
Their manager, Lee Sinnott, showed a midastouch at Farsley Celtic, winning promotion with the non-league club three times, but crafting gold from his squad at Vale Park may be more of a challenge.
Vale have lost six of their last eight league games, and were held to a 1-1 draw by Chasetown in the FA Cup on Sunday. They are already beneath Luton, who sacrificed 10 points by entering administration, and are propping up League One after Cheltenham freed themselves from 24th position with victory over Leeds.
Prutton intends to see to it that the charity shown by United at Whaddon Road is in short supply tonight.
"The atmosphere in the dressing room after Cheltenham was very down," the midfielder said.
"We're used to winning games regularly and defeats are hard for us to take. I don't want to feel like that too often and nor do any of the lads, but I wouldn't call this a loss of form. We're very happy with our position."
YEP
