I'm not to blame for poor form, says O'Leary

DAVID O'LEARY has refuted suggestions that he is the reason behind Leeds' current predicament.

The Yorkshire club are struggling for form in 14th place in the Premiership, with manager Terry Venables so far unable to emulate his predecessor's achievements of turning Leeds into genuine title challengers.

Chairman Peter Ridsdale has also claimed the expensively-assembled squad may have to be cut before players are bought.

But O'Leary has come in for criticism from Ridsdale, who claimed the decline had started while O'Leary was still in charge. But O'Leary claims he left the club in a much healthier state than when he had stepped up to become manager in 1998.

O'Leary said: "When I took over, gates were around 30,000. We put on another 10,000 and reached two European semi-finals.