LEEDS United staff are staging a massive clean-up ready for Sunday's game against Rotherham after torrential rain forced drains to burst.

Water filled the dug-outs at pitch side, seeped into hospitality suites and at one stage a car was seen floating through the car park at Elland Road.

Meanwhile Kevin Blackwell is planning his own clean out, and will start wheeling and dealing on Monday morning, less than 24 hours after the final whistle Rotherham.

The Leeds boss knows he will be under increasing pressure to get Leeds in the play-off spots early next season.

The supporters have shown remarkable patience this season, understanding the difficult circumstances Blackwell was working under but they are unlikely to tolerate mediocre football much longer, especially as they will be paying more to watch it.

Blackwell is determined to get his squad sorted out quickly and chairman Ken Bates feels that waiting in order to save a couple of months' wages is a false economy and risks losing the people at the top of your shopping list.

With the likely introduction of the transfer window at Championship level, which will mean the group who start the season cannot be strengthened until January, Blackwell is also planning to increase the size of his squad to 28 players.

With Seth Johnson ruled out by the chairman because of a £250,000 payment due to Derby the next time he plays, Lucas Radebe's retirement and the probable sale of Aaron Lennon to Spurs, Blackwell is already down to 19.

Add to that the prospect of moving on Eirik Bakke because of his high wages, the difficulty of coming to terms with Blackburn over Michael Gray's wages in order to make his loan move permanent, the ending of Marlon King's loan spell and the probable sale of Julian Joachim and Jermaine Wright, and the Leeds boss's task is clear to see.

Updated: 11:13 Thursday, May 05, 2005