McDermott spells out ‘frank outline’ of requirements to Leeds board

McDermott said he would work to “take obstacles away” from the players at Elland Road as he turned his attention to the job of rebuilding United’s squad for the 2013-14 term.

Hayden Mullins’ 72nd-minute goal settled a tight match at Birmingham on Saturday, leaving Leeds beyond the reach of both promotion and relegation with two games to go.

The loss at St Andrews was McDermott’s first as manager, following on from back-to-back wins over Sheffield Wednesday and Burnley, but he refused to be downhearted after United’s 12th away defeat.

“I’ve got massive optimism for next season,” he said. “Look at the fans, look at the club. That’s why I’m optimistic. We need to sort out whatever needs sorting out. There can be no gossiping and no moaning. There has to be absolutely everybody going in the same direction. If you get that at this club then you’ve got a major chance. That’s how it has to be.

“We’ve got to be going forward and I’ll be saying to the board and the chief executive (Shaun Harvey) exactly how I see things. I’ve got to take all obstacles away from the players and they’ve got to then come back from the summer as fit as they can possibly be.

“We’ve then go to give them every opportunity to be successful – whoever plays at this club next season.”

McDermott refused to be drawn on how extensive the changes to his squad would be, saying: “I just think we need to do whatever we have to do.

“I need to talk about who needs to come in and if we can add good quality players who know this division and know what’s required, then that by definition will strengthen what we’ve got now.”

United’s away form has been their Achilles heel this season and only relegated Bristol City have a worse record than the Elland Road side.

McDermott, whose team will close out the season with clashes against Brighton and Watford, said: “If you’re going to win this league or be involved in the top end then you have to improve the away form.

“But my job when I came here was to make sure we stayed in this league and we’ve got a week now where we don’t have to be concerned (about relegation) – unlike some of the big teams who are down there.”

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