Duberry hopes for happier New Year after mauling by Wolves

MICHAEL DUBERRY sat down to his Christmas dinner yesterday hardly full of the joys of the festive season and wondering whether it will be a happy New Year.

Duberry had been hoping his second goal in four matches at Wolves on Sunday would be the platform for Leeds to extend their unbeaten run to six matches.

But Leeds' revival bandwagon ran out of steam at Molineux where caretaker-manager Eddie Gray's side suffered their latest humiliation this season as the only team below them in the Barclaycard Premiership emerged 3-1 winners.

Although there are six teams above Leeds within four points, the signs are Gray's honeymoon period is over as skipper Dominic Matteo's dismissal added to another day of shame for the Whites.

Ominously, Mark Viduka went missing when he was needed most against the league's rock-bottom club, while the midfield with Gray reverting to 4-4-2 rather than the 4-5-1 of previous games were also notable by their absence.

So with Christmas put on hold to make way for the traditional Yuletide slog of two games in three days and three in seven for Leeds Duberry concedes it is not going to be much of a merry one in his household.

"Yes I scored another goal, but it's sour at the moment," said Duberry, whose two goals have come on the back of a previous three-and-a-half-year barren run.

"I can't enjoy it because of the result and that's the really disappointing thing. I'll get a hug off my Mum and she'll celebrate with me, but that'll be it.

"I've got my family, my girls and my girlfriend's family coming up so I'll have my Christmas dinner today and try to relax a little and forget all about yesterday's game.

"But it's very disappointing to end our good unbeaten run like that. All the lads are bitter. We know all the hard work was not for nothing, but that's what it feels like."

Alan Smith's own goal in the 18th minute hauled Wolves back into a match Leeds were looking at ease with, before a Steffen Iversen second-half brace sandwiched Matteo's red card which means he is now out of the trip to Southampton on January 17.

Centre-back Duberry knows Leeds were disappointingly not at the races yesterday as he added: "The bizarre own goal was the turning point.

"Smudger couldn't do that again if he tried it a million times although I guess it will make next year's Christmas DVD of own-goal blunders.

"Then we got caught out straight after half-time. We didn't have the cutting edge we've had in other games."

The club's FA Cup third-round tie at Elland Road against Arsenal this Sunday is seemingly one Leeds could do without, given the Gunners have thumped four past United in each of their last two visits.

While Wolves boss Dave Jones has made it clear he does not give a stuff about this season's FA Cup, Duberry feels the competition could provide the ideal foundations on which Leeds can rebuild. "It's not a distraction at all, rather a good opportunity for us to start a run again," said Duberry.

"Whether it's in the cup or whatever, we just need to get in the habit of winning games again."