Richardson is hoping to help bring an end to the club's winless run away from home at Cheltenham Town on Saturday, and he warned his team-mates not to expect the unpredictable form of other clubs to assist United's league position as it did on Tuesday night.

Leeds were beaten for the fourth away game in succession at Southend United in midweek, but a number of League One's leading teams were also guilty of dropping points, and the three-point margin between Gary McAllister's side and leaders Scunthorpe United was not affected by the result at Roots Hall.

Both Scunthorpe and Leicester City sustained defeats away from home on Tuesday, losing to Oldham Athletic and Brighton respectively, and the effect of those results was to leave the top 12 clubs in League One separated by only nine points.

Leeds collected six points from two games at Elland Road last week but have not won outside Yorkshire since their trip to Carlisle United on September 20, and Richardson says their target of automatic promotion will require a more consistent intake than that which has seen the club collect nine points from their last six league games.

United's captain said: "We didn't play badly against Southend but we've come away with nothing and it's been like that away from home recently.

"It's not so much the form that concerns us as the results. We haven't been at our best in away matches this season but we haven't played poorly either. At times, some of our football has been pretty good.

"But football comes down to results and the thing for us at the moment is that we haven't turned any of the last three (league) performances into wins. Form isn't the problem; it's the scoreline at full-time that keeps getting away from us.

"We've been exceptional at home and the time's come for us to do that on the road. Saturday's a great opportunity and a crucial game which I feel we need to win.

"Results went our way (on Tuesday) but we don't want to be saying that too often.