Reid's Leeds Battle Cry

Reverse psychology is prominent among Peter Reid's buzz phrases for this season. The gist is that if everyone thinks you are hopeless, you are powerfully motivated to prove otherwise. Only time will tell whether Leeds United can make this work in their favor, but if they can stay half as chirpy as their manager they are in with a fighting chance.

So what if the world thinks Leeds are in for another grueling campaign on and off the pitch? Who cares that the Racing Post recommends backing them to go down at Coral's 'absolutely spellbinding' price of 7-1? Reid is even willing to put a brave face on one of the worst pre-seasons in memory, which apart from the team's failure to win a single game against such undemanding opponents as Burnley, York, Hull, Bristol City, Shelbourne and Aston Villa, featured a public bust-up between himself and Mark Viduka. It may simply be gallows humor or a brave face for the players, but for once in his life Reid does not look like a man in need of cheering up. 'Yes, I had a ruck with Viduka,' he admits. 'So what? I've had a million rucks in my time. It happens. You get over it and move on. I don't think we saw the best of Mark this summer, but we have made it up now, his attitude's been great and he will start the game against Newcastle.'

That is more than can be said for Danny Mills and Nick Barmby, who have not even made Reid's squad for today's opener against Newcastle at Elland Road. 'You have to win the ball as a unit and when you have the ball you have to have players who are able to keep it,' Reid explains. 'There were certain things in our pre-season I wasn't happy with, but this squad is only for the one match. It's up to the players now to demonstrate to me in training that they can match the standards I expect.'

For a manager who likes to play up his working-class credentials at the same time as playing to the gallery - 'Yes I do still have shares in Sunderland. If you are interested in buying ask your broker to get in touch. It doesn't sound right from a scouser that, does it?' - Reid is sending out a shrewd signal here. Just because Leeds have spent a year in complete disarray does not mean anyone can walk into the side. He still picks the team, he still commands respect. He may be gambling with his dressing-room popularity, but the last thing Leeds need is anarchy. Similarly Reid has negotiated a clause in his contract that stipulates players cannot be sold without his blessing, which may not prove to be worth much should another fire sale be deemed necessary at Christmas, but at least it makes his position clear to board, supporters and players alike.

All the time, Reid is chipping away at the perception that Leeds are a demoralized side who will start right at the back of the Premiership field, though he does accept that he has not always liked what he has seen in training and in friendly games. 'For whatever reason I have not seen the real Leeds United this close season,' Reid says. 'I have asked them to do certain things at certain times and they have been unable to do so. The attitude has not been right, though at least I got more of what I wanted in the last game against Aston Villa [a 2-2 draw].'

It is hard to believe that this time last year Terry Venables was slipping his feet under the table at Elland Road, putting a brave face on the lucrative sale of Rio Ferdinand and genially agreeing with the generally held opinion that he had finally taken over a squad of players good enough to win the Premiership. 'For the first time I am at a club where I believe I've got a chance to win it,' Venables said.

Reid cannot allow himself to dwell on all the changes of the past 12 months, and doesn't. 'It's happened, it's history,' he says. 'I'm not daft, I know this is going to be a difficult season, but I won't use what happened last year as an excuse. That's a cop-out. All I will say at this stage is that this is still a great club and it's up to me to get the job done. I've got better players here than I had at Sunderland last season, with the greatest respect, and although we may be in for a bit of a reality check after what went before, I think we will be fine as long as we are competitive. That's all I ask. There is nothing wrong with competing physically. That's the nature of the sport.'

No wonder Harry Kewell was so keen to leave and Viduka so quick to contact his agent. Leeds supporters reading between the lines, and noting that David Batty is back in the squad, will surmise that subtlety is to be replaced by scrapping this season. Reid does not deny it; indeed, he even has the backing of his chairman. 'I'd like to think the team will do better than forecast this season, because Peter Reid is an exceptionally good motivator,' Professor John McKenzie said this week.

Two slight problems with that analysis. One is Sunderland, where last season Reid's motivational powers stubbornly refused to work like a charm. The other is that in the past Reid has tended to assemble teams in his own image - aggressive, physical, cheerfully uncompromising. He has never had the time or money to build anything at Leeds and is having to work with the squad he inherited, which just happens to be shrinking all the time.

'We made a problem for ourselves at Sunderland by finishing seventh twice in our first two seasons up,' Reid admits. 'It proved impossible to live up to expectations after that, though I admit I made a couple of bad buys. Well, one or two of the players I brought in did not work out as well as we had hoped.'

Reid hardly has that to worry about this time. Instead he is determinedly tweaking the Leeds team, telling Alan Smith he should play up front all the time, preparing to bring in Batty as a holding midfielder. 'I'm fairly happy. In fact I'll be quite relieved when the transfer deadline passes,' he claims. 'You know where you are then, which players you have to work with and you can just get on with it. When Leeds were at their most exciting in recent years they played at a high tempo and I'd like to get back to that. You cannot afford to let good players have time and space on the ball.'

That could be Reid's motto, and it could serve Leeds well this season, though for the first time in years no one is getting carried away. 'It will be hard, it will be frustrating, but I don't know whether this is the toughest job in the Premiership,' Reid says. 'Every manager has it tough. Sir Alex has got to win the league and this season so has Claudio Ranieri. Dave Jones and Steve Bruce have got to stay up, and so on. Me? I've just got to try and win a few matches and take it from there. If we can finish in the top half of the table, and I hope this doesn't sound too pessimistic, it will have been a good season.'

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