Gray hails impact of ‘top-class’ striker Viduka

LEEDS caretaker-boss Eddie Gray has hailed the impact of back-in-form forward Mark Viduka – and is now expecting a flood of goals.

Viduka ended a nine-game drought on Sunday with a stunning strike in the vital 3-2 win over Fulham, with Gray hoping the Australia international has finally found his shooting boots again.

The 28-year-old had clearly lost his way in the final weeks of Peter Reid’s reign, with the former United manager fining Viduka one week’s wages for his poor time keeping after being late for training and then for a team meeting soon after.

The relationship between Viduka and Reid proved to be a volatile one, and bearing in mind the stg£6m capture from Celtic, he is the type of player who needs to feel wanted. For a time, as Leeds plunged into the relegation zone, Viduka looked disinterested, and after his feud with Reid eventually came to a head, he was soon bombed out of the team.

But as with many of the Leeds players, with the arrival of Gray at the helm and with the 55-year-old playing Viduka as a lone frontman ahead of a five-man midfield, he has found a new lease of life.

Unsurprisingly, with the January transfer window looming and with Leeds deeply in debt and up for sale, there is speculation Viduka will be on his way.

Chief executive Trevor Birch, though, has stated no players will be sold next month, while Gray has outlined just how important Viduka is to the club’s three-game unbeaten run revival.

“Since I’ve come back to the club, Mark has been terrific,” stated Gray.

“I’ve never had any problem with Mark, who is a top-class striker, someone I rate as one of the top four or five in the country.

“He is certainly a vital member of our team and I was delighted to see him score on Sunday because once he starts scoring goals, to go with everything else he has got, he shows how important he is to us.

“His lack of goals might have been playing on his mind before that, but at half time of that game I told him to go out and keep working and the goals will come.

“I said a few weeks ago Mark Viduka will start scoring goals and once he does then he will go on a run, and I’d like to think he will now.

There is no doubt that in playing on his own up front, Viduka cannot help but get involved, and that is clearly working in his favour.

“A few years ago, him and Alan Smith were a terrific partnership and if Alan played up there now it would still be a good partnership,” added Gray.

“But with the system we’re playing at present he also holds the ball up superbly, which is his strength.

“In playing up on his own, he has the ability to do it, and with the team playing well that helps him. If you are getting balls into Mark then he’s getting involved in the game and he thrives on that.”