Leeds hope to have Beckford and Sodje back for tomorrow’s visit of Stockport County
The two players missed the trip to Orient after picking up injuries at Colchester, but first team coach Glynn Snodin told the official site "They've been doing work with the physios and we'll see how training goes on Friday. If they're okay they'll be available, if not we'll keep monitoring and see how things are for Monday and the game at Leicester. We want to make sure they are right and you'd rather them miss one or two games than four or five given what we've got coming up."
If Beckford doesn’t make it, Liam Dickinson will take his place, but the Derby man seemed to be struggling for fitness on Tuesday after suffering his own injury problems earlier in the season. I’d like to see the ever-eager Mike Grella given a chance up front at some stage.
Sodje has been impressive during his loan spell while he’s been on the field, but given the number of times he’s gone down injured, we will have to wonder how long his knees will hold out. Rui will be a ready-made replacement if he isn’t deemed to be fit.
If Leeds are successful tomorrow it will be the ninth successive win at Elland Road, which will match the achievement of the last Leeds squad to win promotion, under Sergeant Wilko in the first half of the 1989/90 season. And another win would take us to within seven points of an automatic promotion slot, after Peterborough surprisingly dropped points today. But that still seems a long shot with so few games remaining, and perhaps the more relevant statistic is that we are six points above Tranmere and still need a couple of wins to be certain of a place in the play-offs.
At the time of our win at Edgeley Park in December Stockport were well in contention for a place in the play-offs, but since then their form has slipped and they have dropped to tenth place in the table. Manager Jim Gannon has been undermined by financial problems that have forced the sale of one or two key players, and at one stage he was threatening to resign. They still need to raise money to pay an outstanding tax bill, a situation that will sound familiar to Ken Bates.
County have won just one game out of the last nine, and have gone six and a half hours without scoring a goal. But their assistant manager Peter Ward was still sounding upbeat when he spoke to the Manchester Evening News. "There will be 20-30,000 there, and Leeds are on a bit of a roll. Just pulling up at the gates to Elland Road will start the adrenaline pumping, so it should be just about how the lads handle themselves throughout the day."
Stockport’s limited squad will be stretched even further by one or two injuries, and they are in danger of running out of goalkeepers. Owain Fon Williams and Lloyd Rigby are expected miss the game, so Leicester’s Conrad Logan (who is on a season-long loan with the Cheshire club) will deputise. Right back Johnny Mullins for the rest of the season after he broke a metatarsal in last week's draw with Yeovil, while striker Matty McNeil is likely to miss the Easter programme with an ankle injury.
Given the problems Stockport are facing, I think Leeds will be too strong for them, even if Beckford doesn’t recover in time for the game. I think we will get that ninth successive win, by two or three goals.