As I've said all along, it's absolutely essential that we rid ourselves of League One status in May and that message will have been drummed into the squad and the staff throughout the summer.

But even though the pressure is clearly on, the players shouldn't allow themselves to become overawed by the task in front of them.

Four points from as many league games is not a great return but I wouldn't agree with claims that the results accurately reflect United's performances or dominance.

Personally, I don't believe that many of our displays have been poor, and the only real failing has been our inability to get scores on the board and make the most of our possession. These are the things which have had an early impact on our league position.

So far, I've watched Gary McAllister's players hammer Chester City and Crystal Palace in the Carling Cup and collect a very spirited win over Bradford City in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy, and it is obvious from those matches how good a team Leeds are when they play with confidence and perform without excessive tension.

The league is clearly important – in truth it is our priority – but there is no reason for United's squad to enter those games worrying about the consequence of failing to win them.

The players at Elland Road are some of the best in their division and they should feel relaxed about their chances this season.

There is a fine balance to be struck between taking each game seriously while not placing yourself under too much pressure.

I would say, however, that tomorrow's clash with Crewe Alexandra is essentially a must-win fixture – not because anything specific is riding on the result but because the match will be followed by very difficult away games at Swindon Town and Carlisle United.

I'm sure every Leeds supporter would back us to get the better of Crewe and there's no question that we have the stronger squad.

But as yet we have taken only one point from two home games, and a rousing victory this weekend would really get the club going and prepare us for a tough fortnight.

If Leeds perform as they have done in a couple of their cup matches, I can see them going to town tomorrow.

On a different tangent, the transfer window closed without any more signings at Elland Road, and I don't have a problem with that.

We already have a very big squad and the danger with signing players you don't really need is that it fills places which might otherwise fall to some of the products of our academy.

Youngsters have always been important to this club and we seem to have a raft of them maturing at once.

I recently attended the chairman's academy dinner where he and Gary made it clear to all the parents that we intend to build this club up with the help of the youngsters on our books.

Naturally, Premier League clubs are always going to go sniffing around emerging talent from the lower leagues but Leeds must fight to retain theirs.

Ends