Leeds have a few injuries to deal with as we prepare to face Cardiff City, especially in midfield, but Neil Warnock thinks our team spirit will see us through.
David Norris and Paul Green will definitely be out, but there is better news about Michael Brown, who was also expected to miss the game. Neil Warnock told the official site "Browny trained with us on Thursday and he should be okay." But even if Brown is fit for the game, Michael Tonge is still expected to make his Leeds debut.
And Tonge told the official site how much he is looking forward to lining up alongside his new team-mates, some of whom are quite familiar to him." I know Paddy, Browny, Pughy from Stoke, and Paul Green from when I was at Derby. It's always easier if you know people. From what everyone says it's a good group and you can see the spirit between them. That will take them team a long way."
The manager has also been praising the spirit in his new squad, which will be needed as they are about to start a busy four week period involving six league games and the Everton cup tie. “This is an horrific month. We want to get through and hope we’re in touch. But we’ve shown already the lads don’t know when they’re beaten. The lads have to show that resolve.”
And although Warnock has good reason to envy the resources available to Cardiff boss Malky Mackay, he is still likely to adopt an attacking approach in tomorrow’s game. "They have some good players. They have a lot who I've had and been after, the likes of Hudson, Connolly, Helguson and Smith. Good luck to Malky. He's spent his money. You don't win games on paper though and we've got a good shout. With a following like we have you go to win games, besides I'm not sure some of my lads know how to play for a point. That's never been me either."
Cardiff have had to deny a report that Craig Bellamy had lost his appetite for the game, saying that his recent absence from training was due to a calf tear. Mackay said "Craig has trained with me every day and is not in a bad state of mind at all. He's had four days' training so far and, that being the case, we'll be very cautious and careful, but at the same time the last two days he's looked immense out there and he's trained really well, and he's in my squad for tomorrow."
Apart from Bellamy, Cardiff have injury problems with defender Ben Turner, who has a tear on the sole of his foot, and midfielder Kadeem Harris took a "real nasty knock" on his ankle in training and is definitely out. And we will also be denied the pleasure of watching our former player Stephen McPhail, who only resumed training recently after yet another injury.
But despite Cardiff’s injury problems this will be a very tough game for Leeds, as the Bluebirds have won both their home league games so far. As the official site says, we haven’t won in Cardiff in any competition since 1984, though that it is a slightly misleading statistic when in many of the years since the clubs didn’t meet because Cardiff were in a lower division than us.
It would be very nice if we could break that run with a win tomorrow, but I can’t see us doing any better than getting a draw.