‘Underdog’ tag will help us, insists McAllister

May 15 2008 by Stuart Rayner, The Journal

CARLISLE United have been warned to expect a different Leeds tonight by Gary McAllister, who is hoping home disadvantage strikes again.

An expectant Elland Road crowd seemed to work against the Whites in Monday’s first leg, which Carlisle won 2-1, and the Scot is hoping that playing at Brunton Park suits his side better than the Cumbrians.

“Just in the last three or four days we’ve seen the home teams have felt under a wee bit of pressure which can be expected,” he said. “We relish that. We go away from home, the shackles come off and the pressure is put on Carlisle a little bit.

“Many people saw us as favourites at Elland Road – Carlisle having a goal start will be deemed favourites. So we go into the game as underdogs. They’ve got the expectation and pressure of the home fans which we had the other night so the roles reverse a little bit. We’ll see how Carlisle cope with that.”

McAllister admitted his side must improve on their first-leg showing to have any hope of reaching the Wembley final but believes Dougie Freedman’s injury-time strike has lifted spirits.

“What we’ve learned from the first game was that Carlisle were better,” he acknowledged. “They’ve edged in front but they can be sure it’s going to be a tough battle. We’re going to fight and scrap and go right to the final minute.

“As much as we were disappointed with our performance, we did create some chances. But you’ll see a different Leeds tomorrow night. Psychologically for our players Freedman’s goal was important. I don’t know how it’s affected Carlisle, but for us it was a nice little boost.

“As much as the players felt they weren’t performing at their greatest, they kept going. We did make their keeper work and put them under pressure going into the last 10 or 15 minutes and then overtime.

“To keep going right up to the 96th minute, you’ve got to applaud them.”

Former Newcastle United midfielder Alan Thompson has been named in a 20-man Leeds squad. The veteran was on loan at Hartlepool United earlier in the season and has been included alongside striker Jermaine Beckford, who has been under treatment since the first leg.

STUART RAYNER