Earlier the League's chairman Lord Mawhinney had indicated the FA Cup giant-killers had aligned themselves with Leeds in the latter's battle against the 15-point deduction imposed against them.

Lord Mawhinney had sent a letter to all member clubs in which he said: "Barnsley Football Club has joined Leeds in bringing these proceedings. This surprised us, as the first indication we received of any concern on the part of Barnsley in this matter was when we received the claim form."

But Shepherd said: "I knew nothing about this until Tuesday night when I received an email from Brian Mawhinney. Immediately I contacted him to say I don't think this is right. I want to disassociate ourselves from this action. I have nothing against Leeds United, but this is their fight, not Barnsley's."

It is understood that Barnsley director Barry Taylor, who previously served on Football Association committees with Leeds chairman Ken Bates, had indicated Barnsley's support to the League.

Shepherd said: "I have spoken to Barry Taylor. He knows the way I feel about it. I had been away from the club for health reasons and maybe this decision was taken during that time. I will do my best to extricate ourselves from this situation.

"Over the last three years this club has made remarkable progress. We have won promotion from Division One, survived in the Championship and reached the quarter-final of the FA Cup and that is something of which we are very proud."

Bates launched High Court action earlier this month against the penalty, which was for what the League insist was a failure to follow insolvency policy when exiting administration in July.

Leeds were hit with the deduction on the eve of the new season after the League invoked an "exceptional circumstances" clause in their regulations. A meeting of the other 71 member clubs subsequently upheld the penalty with just five voting in the Elland Road side's favour.

United argue this process was both unfair and unreasonable, but Mawhinney, in his letter to the clubs, stressed that their lawyers had been instructed to "defend the 15-point deduction robustly on behalf of the League and the clubs".

The League yesterday learned they have until next Tuesday to give their response to the writ served by Leeds. Meanwhile, an official liquidator – KPMG – has been appointed to distribute the outstanding payments to creditors of the Elland Road club.

If Leeds were to have the 15 points returned, the League One table would change markedly with Gary McAllister's side soaring from ninth to second place and turning a 10-point deficit on second-placed Doncaster Rovers into a five-point advantage.

Manager McAllister is sensibly not relying on anything that may or may not happen in a courtroom and is instead focusing on his side ending an alarming slump in form.

Leeds, who host Crewe Alexandra tomorrow, have won just twice in 11 League outings to lose vital ground on their rivals.

Despite that, McAllister has not yet given up on winning automatic promotion.

He said: "I still feel plenty can happen between now and the end of the season because there are plenty of points to play for.

"Swansea have done really well and, looking at the points, you would say they are maybe a safe bet. But I am not looking at them yet, first and foremost I am looking at the two or three teams directly above us. Then, we can look to claw back the ones who are a little bit further away."

If Leeds, court case permitting, are to fight their way back into contention for a place in the top two then they have plenty to do in their remaining 14 fixtures.

Meanwhile, it has been revealed that a decision has been taken to open the upper tier of the East Stand for the forthcoming World Club Challenge between Leeds Rhinos and Melbourne Storm.

United, through not opening the area this season, had been on course to cut £90,000 from their bill this year by not opening the area.

The huge demand for tickets changes that thinking, but the bill will not be too onerous due to the rateable year ending on April 5 – meaning the club will just have to pay increased rates for the final five weeks of the financial year.