Leeds take wide route and hand out thrashing

A 4-0 victory over Birmingham City helped lift United into the top half of the Championship table. It also helped sweep away many of the storm clouds that had been building over Elland Road following a chastening run of five defeats in seven games. Matt Smith’s double plus strikes by Ross McCormack and Rodolph Austin capped what was comfortably United’s most impressive performance of the season. However, despite the convincing manner of yesterday’s triumph, McDermott is adamant that the demolition of Birmingham should be merely a stepping stone to where he wants to be. He said: “I will always say that things are never as bad as you think they are and never as good. That is the way in football and especially in 2013 – you can make a disaster out of anything. “Unfortunately, that is how it seems to be but I try and live on an even keel if I can. “At Leeds United, in particular, we need to live on an even keel and create something that is very good going forward. We have got a great club here. “The reason you are at this level is to win. You have to find a way to win, whatever it involves, and the more games you win, the more you learn how to win. “We are learning how to win together. This has been a tough six or seven games. We haven’t got the results we wanted and we need to know why that happened.” Yesterday’s 4-0 triumph – their best result in the league since winning by the same scoreline at Nottingham Forest in November, 2011 – nudged United up to ninth in the table, five points adrift of the top six. Asked about a possible promotion push, McDermott said: “You can talk about the play-offs but I have got no interest. I am not very good at talking about stuff like that. “I have done this all my career. There is no point looking forward and what’s gone is gone. We had a good day against Birmingham, but that is all it is. “The most important thing is that we have skipped up a few places and we have got closer to where we need to get to.” United’s win meant three Yorkshire sides claimed maximum points over the weekend, Barnsley having beaten Middlesbrough and Sheffield United seeing off Port Vale the previous afternoon. Otherwise, it was a pretty grim time for White Rose football with only Sheffield Wednesday claiming any kind of reward for their endeavours courtesy of a 1-1 draw at Bolton Wanderers. McDermott may be keen to keep everyone at Elland Road on an “even keel” following the Birmingham triumph, but there was a refreshing zip about United that suggests a corner may have been turned. Fielding a 3-5-2 formation for the first time this season, Leeds ripped the visitors apart and could, with steadier finishing, have triumphed by an even wider margin. Explaining the change of tactics, McDermott said: ”We wanted to get some width. My teams have always had width. “Anyone who watched my Reading side will know we had width. I had five wingers at Reading. and if you haven’t got wingers then find another way. We did that against Birmingham. The international break came at a really good time for us. After (losing 3-1 at) Derby, we were disappointed with the manner of defeat. “This was my 20th game and I am just trying to find the best way to get this group of players to work. Against Birmingham, we found it. “I don’t know (if Leeds will stick with the same formation). I felt it was right for this game. We set that back five up against Rotherham in a recent behind closed doors friendly. No one was able to see it and I felt we looked really good. “We have been working on that for 10 days. We haven’t just gone into it without working on it.” On an afternoon when several United players impressed, McDermott was loathe to pick out any individuals. However, he did take time to praise the Leeds board for fighting so hard to retain McCormack during the last transfer window amid several failed bids from Middlesbrough. “You have to say the board backed me on that one,” said the 52-year-old, who revealed that injury had played no part in both Noel Hunt and Paul Green dropping out of the 18 against Birmingham. “Middlesbrough offered decent money for Ross but they (the board) didn’t take it. That is good for me and good for the club. Ross wanted to stay here, too. I thought he was excellent and showed real pace and intelligence. “The partnership between him and Matt (Smith) was very, very good. But I could go through the whole team. “Luke did excellently in midfield and showed great understanding with Alex Mowatt. Alex has played five games and looks a real good prospect. He has the mentality to play for Leeds United.” McDermott’s satisfied mood was in stark contrast to that of his managerial counterpart Lee Clark. The former Huddersfield Town chief said: “I don’t do excuses. I do reality. That is not acceptable to the badge on the front of that jersey. “We didn’t do anything right in the first half. Our defending was very, very poor. The whole 11. Our play was very, very average. We improved in the second half but it was a very frustrating afternoon. We got what we deserved.”