Gray days indeed for Leeds

EDDIE GRAY is a Leeds legend. And perhaps there is no-one better qualified to speak on the club’s current plight than the Scot, whose heart and soul virtually reside in Elland Road.

Throughout the last three decades, at various stages Gray has been player, manager, reserve-team coach, first-team coach and at present is assistant to Terry Venables.

To be blunt, Gray is Leeds through and through, which is why he has such a close affinity with the supporters who witnessed further late heartbreak on Saturday.

The euphoria felt with the 3-0 win at Bolton last Monday would have been joyously surpassed if United had managed to hold onto a 73rd-minute lead afforded them by Harry Kewell's ninth goal of the season.

But these days when watching Leeds, it is wise not to leave before the final whistle has sounded because more often than not you are guaranteed drama to the bitter end.

So it proved as Venables' anguish, and that of the 35,000 Leeds fans continued when in the 89th minute, Fabrice Fernandes curled into the area an innocuous looking 25-yard right-wing free-kick which took one bounce beyond Paul Robinson.

It was a fluke, freaky; the sixth time this season Leeds have conceded a goal in the last two minutes of a match and symptomatic of when you are in the wrong half of the table and fighting to hold onto your job, how luck often goes against you. Although the point was welcome and ended Leeds' wretched run of five straight home defeats in the Barclaycard Premiership, Fernandes' late fluke was still painful.

"We all feel for Terry," said Gray on Venables, who has had little to smile about since the day he took charge at Leeds just over five months ago and who did not attend the after-match press conference due to a pressing family engagement in London.

Leeds' points tally of just 21 is their lowest since the Premiership was reduced to 20 clubs in 1995, with Gray adding: "He is working very hard to get things right and we're all fully behind him.

"We are all working hard together, but as we have seen there is a fine line between winning and losing games in the Premiership.

"It's difficult for the boys at present, especially at Elland Road. All we need is a couple of results here for the players to get the confidence back and start playing with the ability they have because we don't feel they have done that here yet.