The big black clouds hanging over Elland Road are gradually starting to drift away, with the 1-0 victory against Luton last weekend making it four consecutive wins for Dennis Wise's side. Those three points eat further into the 15-point deficit imposed by the Football League for a breach of insolvency rules and the Yorkshire outfit go into Saturday's clash against Hartlepool on minus three points. Givemefootball's Mark Shail caught up with new signing Andy Hughes, who has made a big impact since making a summer switch from Norwich for an undisclosed fee. The 29-year-old, one of an increasing number of players joining the PFA's Player Management Agency, was a regular in the Canaries' side last term but when Wise came calling for his services he decided he needed a new challenge.
Q:YOU MUST BE DELIGHTED WITH THE START YOU AND THE TEAM HAVE MADE?
A:Yes, it's gone well so far and Saturday's win was important because Luton are one of the favourites for promotion. Obviously it's frustrating to still be on minus three points but there's not a lot we can do about that.
Q:WHAT WERE THE REASONS BEHIND YOUR DECISION TO SIGN FOR LEEDS?
A:There were a number of reasons really but Leeds are a big club and felt I needed a fresh challenge. I played 41 games for Norwich last season but this is a chance for me to prove myself at another club. The manager at Norwich (Peter Grant) didn't want me to leave but I just had a gut feeling there was something right at this club.
Q:A BIG CHALLENGE?
A:Sometimes you can go through your career and just be happy but this is a challenge that people seem to be going away from. A lot has gone wrong at Leeds but I decided it was time to give it a go, to have a fight. That's the sort of attitude I've been used to.
Q:WAS IT A TOUGH DECISION TO LEAVE NORWICH?
A:Norwich is a fantastic club with some wonderful people and players there so it was a tough decision. I had a year left on my contract there but I just felt his was a good opportunity and once I spoke to Dennis Wise my mind was made up
Q:WHAT ARE YOUR EARLY IMPRESSIONS OF YOUR NEW TEAMMATES?
A:There are some really good players here and we've had some good results so far but there's still a long way to go. With the situation we're in, we can't do anything other than take each game at a time – I know it's a cliché but in our position we can't look too far ahead.
Q:THE PLAYERS HAVE SHOWN GREAT CHARACTER UNDER DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES, HAVEN'T THEY?
A:We've not got the biggest squad in the world but everyone has stuck together and we've formed a really close unit. The fact that we've only got a limited squad means that everyone knows each other's game really well and that can help, and of course the fans have been brilliant.
Q:IS IT TOO EARLY TO START THINKING OF PROMOTION?
A:We need to get to 70 points just to stay in this division so any talk of promotion is definitely premature. We're in a position where we will be trying to play catch up all season and 15 points is a big obstacle to try and overcome. But we're on the right lines.
