Leeds facing fight for cash

Leeds were all-but relegated to Coca-Cola League One on Saturday and chief executive Shaun Harvey has urged would-be investors to contact the club and prove they have the funds in place to help them bounce back to the Championship.

Harvey issued a statement from Leeds, which read: "It is important that we take time to reflect on all the factors that have seen us relegated, barring a miracle at Derby next week. We need to make considered and structured decisions both on and off the field over the forthcoming weeks to position ourselves to use next season as a springboard to go forward from."

The statement continued: "There will be (and has been) a significant amount of speculation as to what the future holds for the club financially, particularly from would-be investors who want to become involved/own Leeds United.

"This type of speculation is currently rife both at Leeds United and football in general, but our message remains consistent in so much as anyone interested in becoming financially involved should contact us with full details of who they are and proof of funds to show they are able to assist us.

"There is no point in looking back as we cannot change the past.

"What we need to do is positively affect the future to get this great club back to where it should be so we can all be proud of the club again."

Leeds chairman Ken Bates has leapt to the defence of manager Dennis Wise revealing he had "real problems in the dressing room" when he took over from Kevin Blackwell in October and claiming that "the playing side was in complete disarray."

Wise refused to shift the blame for taking Leeds down, saying: "There are a lot of things wrong and I don't want to go into it because I'm not here to make excuses. I'm disappointed because it's down to me.

"I'm the manager of the football club and whatever happened before doesn't matter. I took them on for five months and unfortunately I haven't done what I intended to do. But this makes you a stronger person, so we build."