Beckford assured he still has big part to play

The United top scorer had to sit out all but the final two minutes of Tuesday night's 3-1 victory at Carlisle United when a new strike partnership of Luciano Becchio and Max Gradel netted all three goals for the visitors.

Twenty-seven goal Beckford's omission came after a series of indifferent displays but Grayson is adamant the door is not closed on a player who is widely tipped to leave Elland Road this summer.

The Leeds manager said: "It was a big decision to leave our leading goalscorer out for the past two or three years as he has been fantastic for the club.

"But in the last few games, Jermaine's confidence has been a little bit low along with his performances. I am here to make the decisions and I thought Luciano affected the game last Saturday (against Southend).

"Him and Max were a real handful for the Carlisle back four and could have easily had a hat-trick each."

Asked if the impressive displays of both Gradel and Becchio meant Beckford would have a minor role in the final four games of the regular season, Grayson said: "Jermaine still has a massive role to play, whether that's from the substitutes bench or starting.

"Every other team in our division would like Jermaine Beckford in their squad because of the goals he has scored.

"Just because he didn't start against Carlisle, doesn't mean he won't start at the weekend. Max and Luciano have the shirts at the moment so they have to keep doing the same job they did on Tuesday to keep Jermaine out of the team.

"Jermaine on the bench can be a worrying sight for teams because he represents tremendous firepower.

"I am also sure that, throughout the Carlisle game, both Max and Luciano were looking over at the bench and looking at Jermaine and Mike Grella. It meant they had to keep working and put in a good performance."

United's win at Carlisle made it three wins in a row, a run that together with stumbles by Millwall and Swindon Town has allowed the Yorkshire side to reclaim second place.

It means Leeds' fate is again in their own hands with four games to play, though Grayson is quick to urge caution to anyone who believes his side already has a foot in the Championship.

He said: "There will be twists and turns so all we can do is keep the same attitude as we showed at Carlisle. I challenged the players after the Swindon second half to win as many as possible and they have responded with 3 wins.

"We now know if we win the next four games, we are up. But we are not getting carried away because there is a lot of work still to do."