THE postponement of Leeds United's match at Birmingham today gives new signing Alan Thompson additional time to work on his fitness before making his debut.

The game at St Andrews was called off shortly after lunchtime yesterday following an inspection of the pitch.

The Blues had begun replacing the playing surface on Monday at a cost of £120,000 but heavy rain has meant the turf specialists could not complete the work on schedule.

Thompson, 33, has not played for Celtic this season but has joined Leeds initially until the end of the campaign and manager Dennis Wise believes the former Newcastle, Bolton and Aston Villa player will add much-needed creativity to the midfield once he gets going.

Yesterday's postponement also means Jonathan Douglas will now complete his two-match suspension by missing the home game against West Brom next Saturday.

Birmingham could be docked points or fined for failing to fulfil the fixture with Leeds, but managing director Karren Brady said: "Absolutely nothing more could have been done in terms of manpower, machinery and equipment to get the game on following the freak weather on Tuesday and Wednesday."

Birmingham say all tickets purchased for the game will be valid when the fixture is eventually played. However, Leeds are unhappy with the postponement.