Leeds are hoping to keep our good run going against Coventry City tonight, and the only new injury doubt is goalkeeper Andy Lonergan.
Lonergan suffered badly bruised fingers during the win at Doncaster, after dropping a cross and having to save bravely at the feet of Rovers striker Billy Sharp. Simon Grayson told the official site “It's touch and go whether or not Andy will be fit to play. If Andy isn't fit I have a player in Paul Rachubka who has plenty of experience and know-how and can come straight into the side. Paul has worked hard in training and he is more than ready”.
With an experienced back-up available and hoping for a chance, Grayson doesn’t need to take any risks with Lonergan now that we’re into a busy period of 7 games in 22 days. Next week’s re-arranged game at Birmingham means that we are playing on Tuesday night for three weeks in a row, but Leeds will be happy to get the games in while the players we now have are working well together and playing with confidence.
Not surprisingly, Grayson was in a good mood as he spoke to the official site. "We're showing the right ingredients at the moment. We have been a bit gung-ho in certain areas this season, but with certain individuals in the team we have looked more solid over the past few weeks. Paul Connolly and Darren O'Dea have done well, Tom Lees has done well, and Aidy White has been a revelation”.
"With no disrespect to Max Gradel, who is a terrific player and was always a threat, we were always a little vulnerable down that side. Now, we've got Danny Pugh in there who has developed a good combination with Aidy White because if one goes the other stays, and they can both attack and defend, and drop in as and when”. In other words Gradel was rather too predictable, for all his ability, and Pugh is always going to be easier for the left back to work with.
"We've got a lot of quality and it's taken a little time to get to this level. We always knew we had a good squad and a couple who've come in have helped us. Michael Brown hasn't been involved in the last couple of games, but he has a huge influence, and the likes of Mikael Forssell and Mika Vayrynen have upped the ante in training.” The new players have helped Leeds to climb the table with four consecutive wins at Elland Road and a first away win of the season at Doncaster.
In contrast, Coventry are struggling at the wrong end of the table in 19th place, and manager Andy Thorn has been undermined by the difficult financial situation at the club, with several leading players moving away from the Ricoh during the summer. They did manage to beat Nottingham Forest on Saturday, but have only one point away from home all season.
A lengthy injury list hasn’t helped them either, but at least some of their players are now coming back to fitness. Clive Platt and Richard Wood are now back in action, and Cody McDonald is almost back to full fitness. The Sky Blues will make a late decision over Joe Murphy, who came off during their game on Saturday.
But one player we won’t have the pleasure of seeing tonight is dear Gary McSheffrey, who got plenty of abuse last season for complaining that Simon Grayson didn’t take him on after his disappointing loan spell at Elland Road the year before. McSheffrey is struggling with a back injury, which will disappoint all of those who were looking forward to shouting at him once again.
Despite their poor position, Thorn was surprisingly upbeat when he spoke to his club’s official site. "People are coming back and it is good. We are going there full of confidence with a team who believe in themselves and believes we can win anywhere. Hopefully things will work out for us and we can get a result."
But despite all this bluster, I can’t see a limited Coventry side getting a result at Elland Road tonight. It’s one thing to beat Forest, but a lot of teams can manage that these days, and an improving Leeds team should be a very different prospect. I think Leeds will win this game by a couple of goals and move back into the play-off positions.