Marching on together: Gallows humour gives way to a siege mentality

"Six more points to go. Until we get to zero," 3,000 travelling Leeds fans chimed moments before the rest of football clocked in for the 3pm shift on Saturday.

Gallows humour has given way to a siege mentality at the Yorkshire club three weeks on from the 15-point penalty dished out by the Football League.

Since that perceived injustice - in the Broad Acres, at least - Dennis Wise's team have won three consecutive league matches.

But none was as sweet as this 2-1 triumph against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground, won in the 89th minute by Jermaine Beckford.

Forest have been the playboy princes of League One since 2005 but now there's a pretender to their throne - and an angry one at that.

Standing among the white shirts in the away end, we could have linked arms were it not for the collective ire being directed in a two-fingered salute, not at chairman Ken Bates, Wise or even the taunting home fans, but at those who had kicked us while we were down: the Football League.

The sense of injustice is working in Wise's favour - and he's noticed. The frosty relationship between the 'Chelsea Boy' and the fans is melting.

He was even called upon to wave at the crowd for the first time since he took the Elland Road reins in October.

What a day for Wisey. Allowing himself a grin, Wise (below) said: "The fans are doing great and that's what we need at the moment."

Perversely, he has been rather fortunate. As one supporter put it: "The 15 points have focused our fury away from him. The players and fans are not just working for him but against the injustice of it all. In a way he's got lucky."

What Brian Clough, who managed both clubs - albeit Leeds for just 44 days - would have made of it all, is easy to predict: Damned United.

And it's that us-against-them attitude that Wise's players are feeding off.

None more so than Tresor Kandol, who fired the visitors into a 17th-minute lead.

Forest were much improved in the second half and, after equalising through Kris Commons, should have gone on to win, Felix Bastians and James Perch spurning decent chances. But it was Beckford's day, sliding in at the far post to slam Seb Carole's deflected through-ball into the roof of the net.

Cue United's now customary post-match team huddle and a stark warning to the footballing fraternity.

Have a kick at Leeds United and they'll kick back. Harder.