Wise lifts his heroes up to zero

"Zero," they chanted jubilantly at Elland Road as manager Dennis Wise and his players came together for a group hug in the centre - circle after beating Hartlepool 2-0, a fifth straight win to wipe out the disputed 15-point penalty imposed by the Football League.

In normal circumstances it would put bottom-placed Leeds top of League One. Look in the club's match programme and they actually are, under the heading 'The Real Coca-Cola League One Table'.

Elsewhere, fans were pictured wearing the club's new T-shirts, with the words: '-15 and we'll still go up'.

The club's belligerent stance mirrors that of chairman Ken Bates who has not given up hope of the points deduction being overturned on appeal to the FA.

Bates continues to be as confrontational as ever, on Saturday using his ever-colourful column notes to print the names and contact details of local MPs so fans could take up the fight with them.

That was before he threatened to castrate a male fan who had used the ladies toilets the previous week. (And he thinks a 15-point punishment is harsh).

Having carried the battle so far, it would be surprising if Bates were to lay down arms now, but sources close to Freddy Shepherd have confirmed the former Newcastle chairman is on the brink of mounting a takeover bid.

Even though it appears Shepherd would not want to be in charge of the day-to-day running of the club, it is very hard to imagine Bates working for anybody else.

Not everyone would miss him, but you have to admire his spirit. Wise admitted it would have been easy to walk away as the club stumbled through yet another summer of perpetual crisis, and he is clearly proud of the players who also stayed.

"They could easily have said, 'Sod this, I'm off '," said Wise. "But they weren't here for the money or other reasons, they were here because they wanted to be here. Makes me proud.

"I cleared a lot out, obviously, and I had a close group after that. They go out together, enjoy themselves together and that's what I want them to do. If you get them close like that, they will work even harder for each other."

Even though Wise admitted Saturday's performance was sub-standard — Hartlepool deserved a draw at least —this was a game Leeds would have lost last season.

Instead, everyone dug in together. The group hug was heartfelt, and the rapturous acclaim from nearly 27,000 on the terraces carried a genuine sense of hope that the worst is over.

As well as hitting the woodwork three times, Hartlepool also thought they had cancelled out Tresor Kandol's 20th-minute opener when Leeds goalkeeper Casper Ankergren pushed Richard Barker's header on to the underside of the bar and then gathered the ball as it landed.

Replays failed to show conclusively whether it had crossed the line.

Jermaine Beckford added a sublime second five minutes after half-time, taking a long pass in his stride before chipping keeper Jan Budtz, but quite how Ankergren kept a clean sheet at the other end is a mystery.

Kandol revealed how the manager's determination to bring about change this summer even stretched to him being made to change the No 27 on his back.

"He wanted a fresh start for everyone," said the Congo-born striker, who now wears 20. So far, it's working like a dream.