Douglas looks to a brighter future

GILLINGHAM. Southend. Cheltenham. No disrespect to those clubs but they were hardly the type of opposition Jonathan Douglas had in mind when he first hooked up with Leeds United two seasons ago.

Locked in a downward spiral because of their financial difficulties when he initially arrived on loan, the Yorkshire club had been relegated from the Premiership in 2004 but Douglas’ first season promised a return to happier climes.

Defeat to Watford in the Championship play-off final at Cardiff — 24 hours after Munster’s Heineken Cup triumph at the same stadium — put paid to that and the meltdown simply gathered pace.