Despite the jeers, Tel has no regrets

TERRY VENABLES says he has no regrets about taking on the role of Leeds manager.

Venables is a man under pressure, as he conceded earlier this week following the 2-0 defeat to Spurs at White Hart Lane which left Leeds languishing 14th in the Premiership following a miserable run of one win in nine matches.

The ongoing feud between chairman Peter Ridsdale and former boss David O'Leary, the fact there is no money to spend on new players and a crippling injury crisis might have raised doubts in Venables' mind as to why he bothered returning to club management.

Venables was doing very nicely sitting in his pundit's chair in the ITV studios. He has no real need to go back to the day-to-day grind of football's front line.

But when Ridsdale came calling at his villa in June in the small Spanish town of Javier, situated between Alicante and Valencia, the lure of Leeds proved irresistible.

Virtually since his appointment, Venables has faced opposition, in particular from the supporters. They have booed him since the third match of the season when Leeds lost at home to Sunderland.

With defeat following defeat four in a row at Elland Road the jeers have grown in intensity, as have the calls for Venables to go, but he has already stated he will not be bullied out of the club.

His stance appeared to shift earlier this week when he intimated he could yet walk away but even if he does he will not look back in anger.

Ahead of tonight's UEFA Cup third-round tie against European debutants Malaga at Estadio La Rosaleda, Venables said: "The speculation has not affected my preparations.

"It's been like this for many weeks and it's no different for this game, but I do take it personally, obviously because it's about me. You would have thought there would be some sympathy, but the reaction (from the fans) has been surprising.

"It's like that and I don't know why, although I've had many reasons given to me by people, but which ones are accurate I don't know.

"I've been told it's because I come from the south, that I'm George Graham's friend which I don't understand. It's there whatever the reason.

"But I've no regrets. You can't go through life having regrets about what things you've done. I've always gone for what I believe is right and I've never regretted it.

"You can always say I could have done better or I should have done better, but you don't regret things you do otherwise you'd never do anything."

Venables concedes he is down to a bare bones squad for the first-leg tie, with just six on the bench rather than the seven permitted by UEFA, such are the injury woes.

Mark Viduka, Danny Mills, Dominic Matteo, Olivier Dacourt and Lucas Radebe are sidelined, with Robbie Fowler and Seth Johnson still not fit after their injury problems, while Teddy Lucic and James Milner are ineligible, the latter as he is too young.

Venables, though, is likely to give a debut to Paul Okon. The Australian has suffered from knee and groin injuries since his free transfer summer move from Middlesbrough.

Venables will at least be buoyed by the news Malaga's Uruguay striker Dario Silva is out with a rib injury, which is likely to see him also miss the return at Elland Road, while midfielder Gerardo is suspended.

Given Leeds' plight, Venables makes Malaga the favourites, despite the fact this is their first season in the UEFA Cup the Costa del Sol side having qualified via the Intertoto Cup.

When you consider Leeds' record against Spanish opponents, it is no wonder Venables is trying to play down hopes of a victor United have not won in Spain since 1967.

Their last four matches, all in the Champions League run to the semi-finals two seasons ago, ended in defeat at the hands of Barcelona, Real Madrid, Deportivo La Coruna and Valencia by a combined aggregate scoreline of 13-2.

Malaga have also proven formidable on home soil this season, winning seven and losing just one of their 11 matches in all competitions, including four wins and a draw in European competition.

"They are favourites, no doubt about that, and so I think it will be difficult," added Venables, who is back in the country where he became known as El Tel following his three-year association with Barcelona.

"They may be without Silva, who is a very good player, but we've a few players out ourselves. We've some problems.

"In truth, it's been a bad few days, and considering that the mood is quite good and up. We're a group of guys who are very disappointed with the results and we want to get out there and do something about it.

"Whatever the challenge is we've got to face it and hit it head-on and that's what we intend to do."