United had their hand on a play-off position when McAllister walked through the door at Elland Road, but the sharp end of the division has been uncharted territory for the Scot ever since Leeds collapsed in a heap on his managerial debut.

That was until yesterday, 11 games later, when a victory at Leyton Orient thrust Leeds into sixth place and sent several teams tumbling away beneath them.

Orient were pulled up by Martin Ling with the exhausted look of a Grand National outsider, and Oldham and Brighton failed to produce victories on a day when the value of United's result was enhanced by scores elsewhere.

Ultimately, it was Tranmere's defeat at Walsall which opened the gates to the six-room penthouse.

Paul Huntington's first-half header was the least that Leeds deserved for their creditable performance before the interval, and Jermaine Beckford's volley in the 50th minute gave the final scoreline greater realism.

The striker's goal was his 20th of the season, the first Leeds player to produce a score since Mark Viduka in 2003.

The achievement was worthy of acknowledgment, but captured less attention than the sight of him being helped from the pitch with an injury 15 minutes after passing his milestone.

However, the damage to his ankle was not serious enough to prevent him spending the night in London.

Beckford's condition was, for a short while, the sole grimace from a performance which was as creditable and composed as any other this season and earned its reward.

Orient provided limp opposition and were the victims of what Ling called a "gulf in class", but their display was arguably symptomatic of their visitors' quality.

Yesterday's result consolidated fully United's midweek victory over Doncaster Rovers which, in the grand scheme of the League One table, was utterly essential.

The win at the Keepmoat Stadium on Tuesday night was so spirited and crucial that changes to Leeds' line-up yesterday would have taken some justification from McAllister.

His team's structure was the same as in South Yorkshire, excluding David Prutton who was fit enough to travel to London but granted only a place on the bench.

As an example of the competition in McAllister's squad, Prutton's only crime had been to injure his foot eight days ago.

Victory at Doncaster's was achieved with Leeds backed against a wall for most of an exhausting game, but the defensive demands made of them at Brisbane Road were far less severe.

Huntington scored in the 16th minute with an opportunistic header, and his goal cleared the way for a win which came more easily than McAllister could have imagined.