Leeds United's players began their summer break today - but it looks as though they won't get much rest.

New manager Peter Reid has armed his squad with individual fitness programmes as he bids to get hard-up United moving back up the Premiership after a season to forget.

They ended the campaign on a rare high note with a 3-1 home win over fellow under-achievers Aston Villa in a game which highlighted United's strengths and weaknesses.

They still look potent in attack but wafer-thin in midfield and wobbly in defence under pressure, matters which Reid needs to resolve with some astute wheeler-dealing unless some of the star names leave Elland Road.

Reid's hot and cold team, safe in the knowledge that their Premiership status was secure, put in one of their tepid performances but just summoned up enough energy to mug Villa.

Having gone behind to Ian Harte's early free-kick, Villa controlled the game for over an hour against hosts that were way off the pace.

Joey Gudjonsson's shoot-on-sight policy kept goalkeeper Paul Robinson on his toes with saves that must have impressed the watching John Lukic, the former Leeds number one, who is now a goalkeeping coach at Arsenal, a club continually linked with Robinson.

Leeds failed to heed the Icelander's warning shots and on 40 minutes he was given time and space to detonate a 30-yarder past Robinson with his right foot.

After that the teams sleep-walked their way through the second half leaving the crowd to amuse themselves with renditions from the Leeds United songbook.

Villa had been the better side in a poor game by some distance when United won their first corner with ten minutes left.

Harte bent it in from the right, skipper Dominic Matteo flicked on and sub Nick Barmby emerged at the far post to ram the ball in to the roof of the net.

A flurry of late substitutions - including former Tadcaster Grammar School student Matthew Kilgallon getting a brief taste of action - did nothing to help the flow of the game which ended with Mark Viduka's 20th Premiership goal of the season.

Villa failed to deal with a long ball and the classy Australian took the ball round goalkeeper Stefan Postma and rolled in his 15th goal from his last dozen starts.

United goals have flowed under Reid's spell in charge - 21 in eight matches bringing four priceless victories - but he was not fooled by yesterday's result.

"We have got to make ourselves harder to beat," said Reid. Too often during 2002-03 United beat themselves.

Updated: 09:45 Monday, May 12, 2003