Leeds United 0 Ipswich Town 0: Bannan believes lightning can strike twice at United

A year after helping Blackpool into the Premier League, the 21-year-old midfielder believes he can repeat the trick with the Elland Road club.

Bannan, who last week joined on loan from Aston Villa until the end of the season, came off the bench 15 minutes from time as United were held to a goalless draw by an Ipswich Town side that did an excellent job of containing the deadliest attack in the Championship.

The Scotland international said: “With the position Villa are in, the gaffer was going for more experienced players. I wasn’t really getting as many games as I would have liked.

“I looked at my options and there were a lot of big clubs who came in for me. I chose Leeds ahead of Cardiff, Nottingham Forest, Derby County and other clubs like that.

“I wanted to go out and play but I also wanted to choose one of the big teams who have a chance of doing well.

“It would be great to go up again. We want automatic promotion but if it is the play-offs then I think we have the players to do well.”

Bannan moved to Bloomfield Road on loan midway through last season and went on to make 22 league appearances for Ian Holloway’s men.

Two of those came in the play-offs as the Seasiders edged past Forest in the semi-finals and then beat Cardiff City at Wembley, where the Villa loanee came off the bench in the closing stages.

It means he knows all about what qualities are needed to prevail in the heat of a promotion race.

Bannan, whose first two appearances for Leeds have come as a substitute, added: “The big thing Blackpool had in their favour last season was the togetherness.

“The team spirit was very strong, while the players could also play. I see similar things here. The spirit is great and there are some really good players here so, hopefully, we can do what Blackpool did last year.

“I want to play my part and am looking to start every game, otherwise there would be no point being here. It would just be the same situation as at Villa.

“I want to show the Leeds fans what I am all about. I haven’t spoken to the manager or anything like that because, on Tuesday at Preston, I’d only just arrived.

“And then he would not have wanted to change a winning team. But I will see what happens this week.”

Bannan’s home debut was a strangely flat affair for Leeds, who showed little of the attacking swagger that has characterised much of their season.

Max Gradel did cause a few problems for the Ipswich defence in the early stages. He also brought an excellent diving save from Marton Fulop with a dipping 25-yard effort.

On the opposite flank, Eric Lichaj, whose loan stay from Villa is set to be extended this week, linked up neatly with Robert Snodgrass in the second half to get into several promising positions.

But, on the whole, Leeds were a pale imitation of the team that have cut such a swathe through the Championship this season.

Much of that was down to how admirably Ipswich performed, Paul Jewell having sent his side out with a formation that mirrored United’s own 4-2-3-1 set-up.

If the intention was to nullify the home side’s threat then it worked a treat. Ipswich were also helped by some heroic performances from the back-line, most notably central defenders Gareth McAuley and Damien Delaney.

McAuley, in particular, deserves tremendous credit for putting in such an impressive shift on an afternoon that saw the Town defender have five stitches inserted in a head wound after being caught by Billy Paynter’s elbow in the early stages.

Hapless referee Darren Deadman thought the incident only worthy of a yellow card for the United striker, something that McAuley found difficult to understand.

The Northern Ireland international said: “He (Paynter) has just caught me and the ref has booked him.

“If he has booked the lad for an elbow, then I don’t know what the rules say, but I thought it would be a red.

“The ear is OK now. They couldn’t get it to stop bleeding and when they opened it up at half time to stitch it up, they found out it had split in different directions. It ended up being a rush to make the kick off for the second half.”

The incident that caused McAuley’s injury and a truly bewildering performance by referee Deadman in the first half were, in truth, the only real talking points of an otherwise forgettable afternoon.

It meant the home fans, who have been treated to some truly stunning entertainment this season, left feeling deflated following Elland Road’s first goalless draw in almost 18 months.

‘Two points dropped’ seemed to be the phrase on many lips after Ipswich had become the first side since Charlton Athletic last term to grind out a 0-0 draw at Leeds.

Bannan, however, insists a draw at home to a good Ipswich outfit is far from a blow in the race for promotion.

He said: “It is a good point, mainly because a lot of the other teams around us have drawn or lost.

“We want to win every game that we play because we are a big club but, sometimes, it just isn’t your day and the main thing then is not to lose the game.”