Give me your backing, McDermott implores Leeds board

BRIAN McDermott implored Leeds United’s board to maintain full support of him and his team after stepping out of the running for the Republic of Ireland job.
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McDermott pledged his future to Leeds by emphatically distancing himself from the vacant Irish post and called for unanimous commitment at Elland Road after five challenging months as United’s manager.

The former Reading boss, who took charge of Leeds on a three-year deal in April, admitted that his time in Yorkshire “hasn’t been overly easy” but his categorical dismissal of links to the Republic of Ireland drew a firm line under gathering speculation about him.

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McDermott held talks with two of Leeds’ senior staff – managing director David Haigh and acting chief executive Paul Hunt – on Wednesday after he was named by John Delaney, the Football Association of Ireland’s chief executive, as a possible successor to Giovanni Trapattoni.

The 52-year-old declared himself “committed, 100 per cent” to Leeds but said he would look to United’s directors for continuous backing after a summer in which limited transfer funds restricted his ability to sign new players.

McDermott said: “From my point of view what I’d seek from the board at Leeds United is support, for all of us. It’s really important that we’re all going in the same direction.

“It hasn’t been overly easy here since April but we’re trying to go in the right direction and pull together. This is a great, great club.

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“By definition when you talk about support you talk about money but for me support can come in different ways. You might lose two or three games but you have the support of your board saying ‘keep going, you’re doing things right.’ We’re trying to do the right things here.

“You need a bit of everything and obviously finance, you need that too. That’s what people will always talk about. At this moment we have to do things a certain way and get the best out of everyone – the players and the staff. We have to be at our maximum.”

Asked about the Republic of Ireland post – vacated by Trapattoni on Wednesday morning – McDermott said: “I owe (Leeds) and the supporters. I’m committed 100 per cent.”

United made a steady start to the Championship season last month, taking eight points from five games and remaining unbeaten until a 1-0 loss to Queens Park Rangers on August 31.

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McDermott’s side go to Bolton Wanderers tomorrow and his line-up is likely to be largely unchanged with Rodolph Austin arriving home from international duty with Jamaica in time to play at the Reebok Stadium.

Dougie Freedman’s Bolton fell to the bottom of the table after failing to win any of their first five game but McDermott said: “I’m a notoriously slow starter. I’ve normally got two points at this stage of the season.

“I think Dougie will be absolutely fine. They’ve got a good squad and good individual players. They won’t have a problem this year.

“They played against QPR recently and they were unfortunate to lose. They had chances and they hit the post. We’ll have to be at our best to go there and get a result. The table at this stage isn’t particularly relevant.

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“Looking back at our game against QPR, it’s a game where we should definitely have got a 0-0 draw. That’s something we need to learn from.” Click here to register and have your say on the Leeds United stories and issues that matter to you

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