Gary McAllister hails his heroes after play-off win

9:20am Friday 16th May 2008

Comments (13)   Have your say »

LEEDS United boss Gary McAllister praised his players for repaying his faith after a dramatic League One play-off semi-final victory at Carlisle United last night.

A Jonny Howson brace - with the second goal scored in the first and only minute of stoppage time - secured a 3-2 aggregate victory for Leeds, meaning they will meet Doncaster or Southend at Wembley on May 25.

But McAllister, pictured, admitted he had considered making changes to his line-up after Monday night's disappointing 2-1 first leg defeat at Elland Road.

He said: "I thought about two or three changes and the players would have accepted it because we underperformed.

"But we gave them a chance and were looking for a reaction. It was the kind of reaction any manager in the world would have been happy with."

McAllister also hailed two-goal hero Howson, who will only turn 20 next week - four days before next weekend's final.

He said: "Jonny's been an ever-present since I arrived and everyone knows what I think of him.

"He's a young man with great potential.

"We are drip-feeding him with information and not stifling him, but he's got raw energy and we are trying to protect him and help him progress as a footballer."

Doncaster and Southend meet tonight at the Keepmoat Stadium, but McAllister expressed no preference for final opponents.

He said: "We have moved slightly closer to the Championship, but nothing has been achieved yet. We've still got a hard game at Wembley because both Doncaster and Southend are excellent, strong teams."