Leeds United 1 Brighton & HA 2: Unwanted record in sight as Leeds face fans revolt

United may sit just four points adrift of the play-offs but these are not happy times down Elland Road way.

A protest march ahead of kick-off that saw the 400 or so fans who set off from the city centre swell to a four-figure number by the time it reached the Billy Bremner statue was a vivid illustration of that.

As was the the final whistle being met by indifference, the air of resignation that is becoming more and more apparent among supporters meaning there was only rudimentary booing as referee Graham Salisbury called a halt to proceedings – almost as if those taking part had become so used to being let down that registering their dismay seemed pointless.

Certainly, the lack of sustained booing could not have been down to any satisfaction with Leeds’ performance over the preceding 90 minutes with Neil Redfearn’s side offering little in the way of attacking intent.

Brighton’s victory means United have not beaten a team who finished a game with 11 men since the first weekend of December. That’s nine long, long weeks.

A five-day spell during which Leeds are due to take on two of the bottom three in Coventry City and Doncaster Rovers may well bring an end to that run by the end of this week.

But, even so, these are troubling times at Elland Road as the club edges ever closer to chalking up another unwanted record – namely, equalling the previous longest spell they have spent outside the top flight.

That stands at nine years and dates back to the immediate post-war period, Leeds being relegated from Division One at the end of the 1946-47 campaign.

At the moment, Leeds’ current absence from the big time stands at eight seasons and many more displays like the one that allowed Brighton to return south with all three points will mean a ninth becoming reality sooner rather than later.

Any chances of staving that threat off surely rest with the need to find a permanent successor to Simon Grayson.

Neil Warnock – whose former assistant at QPR, Keith Curle, was at Elland Road on Saturday – Roberto Di Matteo and Lee Clark are among a long list of names that have been linked with the post.

Whoever gets the nod, there can be no doubting that a new direction is needed along with some fresh thinking if a talented but under-achieving squad is going to be galvanised to the extent that a push for promotion remains a realistic ambition.

Certainly, the manner of the two performances under Under-18s manager Redfearn’s charge have been too similar to the type that characterised the final few months of Grayson’s reign with moments of individual brilliance being interspersed with some humdrum football.

Against Brighton, Leeds huffed and puffed but rarely managed to test Peter Brezovan in the visitors’ goal.

Such were the labouring efforts of the home side, it took 32 minutes for the Seagulls goalkeeper to be called into action, and even then this was to cut out a cross from Adam Smith after the full-back had been released by a deft pass from Robert Snodgrass.

United’s first on-target effort then took another 38 minutes to arrive, Snodgrass again playing a role with the corner that Tom Lees headed firmly into the hands of Brezovan.

By that stage, United’s Andy Lonergan had been tested several times with perhaps his best save coming four minutes into the second half when he kept out a close-range effort from Ashley Barnes.

That and Barnes spurning a similar gilt-edged chance moments earlier should have been sufficient warning to the United defence that they had to tighten up or risk going behind.

Instead, the home side continued to look vulnerable and Brighton took advantage 13 minutes from time when a corner from Vicente was flicked into the path of Craig Mackail-Smith.

The former Peterborough United striker had only been on the field for three minutes but there was no way he was going to miss from just a couple of yards out.

Leeds’ response was impressively swift, it taking just two minutes for Redfearn’s men to equalise.

Again a corner was the catalyst, Snodgrass’s out-swinging effort allowing Luciano Becchio to nip in front of his marker and flick the ball into the corner of the net.

Redfearn’s response was to tell Andros Townsend, who had been warming up on the touchline, to return to the substitutes bench.

A minute or so later, however, and the United caretaker manager had changed his mind and sent on the Spurs loanee.

The hope was that the speedy youngster could conjure up a winner but, instead, it was the visitors who prevailed thanks to a fiercely hit shot from Alan Navarro in stoppage time that flew past Lonergan to condemn Leeds to a sixth home league defeat of the season.

Navarro’s late strike means the pressure is on United to bounce back against, first, Coventry and then Doncaster.

Caretaker-manager Redfearn, who is set to remain in charge for both those games, said: “My position doesn’t change. If I looked at it as having to win every game then you’d never get up in the morning. There is definitely enough quality here to get into the top six. Definitely. There are little bits and bats missing but most people could say that, even teams at the top of the league.

“It is a really young side, which bodes well for the club if they keep learning and moving in the right direction.

“They are going to be a force when they do get promoted but it doesn’t happen overnight.”