Grayson: Man Utd debacle won’t derail Leeds at Brighton

The Whites were comprehensively beaten 3-0 by Barclays Premier League leaders United on Tuesday night despite Sir Alex Ferguson making 11 changes from the team that saw off Chelsea last weekend.

Hopes were high given Grayson had led Leeds to a famous 1-0 win over their bitter rivals in the FA Cup two seasons ago, but he does not expect a hangover at the Amex Stadium.

Grayson said: “My players have got time to recover and we’re flying down to Brighton as well so we’ll give ourselves a real chance to win the game - which I expect us to do. We’ll compete with them and we’ll try to get a result.

“Brighton is what we’re looking forward to and, as much as we’ll be disappointed about losing to Manchester United, I hope it won’t affect our confidence. I’m sure it won’t.”

It is a challenging schedule for both teams, with Leeds playing their third game in six days while Brighton face a very short turnaround after losing to Liverpool in the Carling Cup last night.

Grayson added: “It’s a big ask for us but I made the decision not to make many changes because we wanted to give Manchester United a game.

“We didn’t really manage to do that but I don’t have the luxury of making 10 or 11 changes like they did. At 3-0 down our focus had to be on tomorrow night, which is why I took three players off. They’ll probably all start at Brighton.

“But I hope my players learn from the experience of playing against Manchester United and playing against guys like (Michael) Owen, (Dimitar) Berbatov and (Ryan) Giggs.”

Grayson will have one more option available to him after Leeds signed Stoke utility man Danny Pugh this morning on loan with a view to a permanent deal in January.

Pugh knows the club well having made 57 appearances for Leeds between 2004 and 2006 before leaving for Preston and then Stoke.

Grayson told www.leedsunited.com: “We’re delighted to bring Danny to the football club. He is a versatile player and is an experienced player who has played in both the Premier League and the Europa League with Stoke.”

Leeds will be looking for a third straight Championship victory after wins over Crystal Palace and Bristol City but third-placed Brighton have found their new home to their liking so far with two victories and one draw.

Manager Gus Poyet will be without Will Buckley, who picked up a hamstring injury in the 2-1 defeat by Liverpool, but Marcos Painter returns after a one-match ban while Will Hoskins and Gary Dicker could both be available.

Poyet, meanwhile, will talk to new boy Vicente Rodriguez, who made an impressive debut against Liverpool but may find two games in three days too much.

The 30-year-old winger, who boasts 38 caps for Spain, was the standout Championship signing of the summer when he joined the Seagulls on a free transfer from Valencia.

Poyet told www.seagulls.co.uk: “I made a few changes for Liverpool with an eye on the Leeds game. The only difference is that Buckley will not be available because he suffered another hamstring problem again last night.”