Automatic bid looks set to go down to the wire

The Elland Road club's demolition of MK Dons together with Leyton Orient being beaten at The Den means it is a case of as you were in second and third place in League One with Grayson's men a point above the Londoners.

Charlton and Swindon being held to draws by Exeter and Wycombe, respectively, means they are four and five points behind second-placed Leeds.

With two games to go, it seems a huge gap to make up – especially as Charlton and Swindon have vastly inferior goal differences.

Despite that, Grayson, who takes his United side to The Valley on Saturday as Millwall travel to Tranmere, is adamant no-one can be ruled out just yet.

He said: "I still believe there are four teams chasing second place. Charlton and Swindon dropped points but until it is mathematically impossible for them to make it, then they are involved.

"I will certainly not be ruling anyone out. You can't in football. This game has an ability to kick you where it hurts.

"I think it will go to the wire. I would like to think we will get a good result at Charlton and I am sure Millwall will feel the same about going to Tranmere.

"I would love to be promoted now but we have a lot of work to do. By Saturday night, we could be out of the top two. That is not me being negative, just pointing out a fact. But we have a belief and are on a decent run, having won four out of five games.

"It has been a good season but now we want to finish it off by getting promoted."

United's 4-1 victory proved a welcome boost to the club's goal difference, which now stands at plus 33 – identical to Millwall's.

It means the late double from Jermaine Beckford could prove to be important come the end of the season and Grayson was full of praise for a striker who took his season's tally to 30 despite starting on the bench for the third consecutive game.

He said: "Jermaine realises what it is all about. The reception he got when coming off the bench shows he is loved.

"We brought him out of the team but Jermaine has shown patience and worked hard. He just got on with it.

"He scored two against MK Dons but could have got three or four. It is great for a team to have someone with 30 goals to his name on the bench, it makes opposition teams nervous.

"Thirty goals is a great achievement, especially after the barren run he went through. He is a natural scorer. Like every other player, he has flaws but the one thing he does is score goals and I hope he can score a few more before the end of the season."