Click here to read McAllister's reaction to the FA Cup exit at Histon.

Click here to read a match report of Leeds's loss at Histon.

Click here to listen to the SportsTalk panel discuss the problems at Elland Road.

McAllister said he would be aiming to bolster Leeds's promotion challenge during the January transfer window but stressed any new players must have the temperament as well as the talent to succeed.

Leeds may be punching below their weight in English football's third tier following a dramatic fall from grace in recent times, exemplified by Sunday's humiliating FA Cup defeat against
non-League Histon, but the size and anticipation of their fan-base remains of Premier League stature.

McAllister, whose side would appear in need of enforcement after tumbling out of the promotion positions, said he was only interested in recruiting players who could handle the pressure of representing Leeds.

"I think there's a different sort of criteria for players coming to this club," he said.

"We may be in the third division, but expectation levels are high – and rightly so.

"I'm basically looking at the targets I'm trying to bring to Leeds United in the same way that the top four in the Premier League are looking at their targets.

"There's a certain type of player you've got to be, mentally and temperament-wise, to go and play in the top four in the Premiership – and it's the same with us.

"The players we bring in have to be able to thrive under those conditions and relish that pressure.

"We have very demanding crowds and crowds that are different to others in League One.

"Players have got to be able to deal with that, and these are the factors I have to take into consideration when I'm recruiting people."

Despite their recent inconsistencies, Leeds remain well placed to win promotion to the Championship.

They are seventh in League One ahead of Saturday's trip to Tranmere Rovers but only six points behind leaders Leicester City.

McAllister believes he already has a strong squad at his disposal but acknowledges the need to add fresh faces.

That ambition has been boosted by last week's announcement the club made a profit of £4.5m for the 14-month period to June 30, with chief executive Shaun Harvey indicating funds would be made available to the manager. "I feel we've got the nucleus of a good squad at this football club but, at the same time, we do need to strengthen and that will be done," added McAllister.

"There are certain areas we're looking to strengthen and we're continually on the lookout for quality players.

"But I don't want to be bringing people in for the sake of bringing people in.

"The players I'm going to bring to this club have got to be better than what I've already got and possess the temperament, as well as the skill, to make an impact."

McAllister's first priority is to lift his side after their shock defeat at the Glass World Stadium, where Blue Square Premier Division minnows Histon became the first non-league team to eliminate Leeds from the FA Cup.

The result evoked memories of Leeds's inglorious defeats in the competition against Colchester in 1971 and Cardiff in 2002, while the Elland Road outfit were also overwhelming favourites when they lost the 1973 final to Sunderland.

It has been a difficult few days for McAllister and the club, but there was at least some good news yesterday when highly-rated teenager Aidan White put pen to paper on his first professional contract.

The 17-year-old defender, who made his first-team debut during last August's Carling Cup tie against Crystal Palace, has signed a deal that runs until 2012.

"I'm delighted to sign," said White, who first joined Leeds at the age of eight and has risen through the club's Academy.


UNITED'S OTHER BIG FA CUP UPSETS

Colchester 3 Leeds 2 (1971)

Leeds had reached the final a year previously and would lift the trophy 12 months later — but sandwiched between was this fifth-round horror at Layer Road.

Sunderland 1 Leeds 0 (1973)

Holders Leeds were hot favourites to retain the cup when they met Second Division Sunderland in the final, but they reckoned without Ian Porterfield and Jimmy Montgomery.

Cardiff 2 Leeds 1 (2002)

Premier League leaders United were shocked in Wales in a trouble-hit match. Mark Viduka scored for Leeds, but goals from Graham Kavanagh and Scott Young clinched a 2-1 win.