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Leeds United: We'll share the Becks burden - McCormack
Ross McCormack expects the striking duties at Leeds United to be a collective effort this season, insisting the responsibility for scoring goals will not be solely his.
The Scotland international is bedding into Elland Road after joining the club in a deal which added significant strength to the pack of forwards competing for selection under United manager Simon Grayson.
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McCormack made his debut in a 1-0 win at Watford – Leeds' last league fixture before the current international break – and he is in line to appear at Elland Road for the first time on Saturday when United's clash with Swansea City restarts the Championship term.
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Leeds paid a six-figure fee to take McCormack from Cardiff City in the final week of the transfer window, advancing further Grayson's bid to restructure his attack in the aftermath of Jermaine Beckford's move to Everton in May.
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The 24-year-old is the most proven Championship goalscorer in Grayson's squad having struck 23 times for Cardiff during the 2008-09 season but he said the thought of directly replacing Beckford – a 30-goal striker in two successive seasons with Leeds – was not on his mind.
McCormack said: "I don't feel like I'm a replacement for him. He scored a lot of goals and there's obviously going to be pressure on me to do that but we've got other strikers as well.
"You only have to look at someone like Davide Somma, who scored two against Millwall and one against Leicester in the Carling Cup. Replicating Jermaine's goals is a burden on everyone."
The extent of the competition created by McCormack's signing was demonstrated by Somma's failure to feature in United's victory at Vicarage Road on August 28.
Somma made his case for regular involvement in Grayson's side with three goals in two appearances last month but he sat on the bench throughout a tense clash in Watford.
Grayson has a wealth of options to consider this week prior to Swansea's visit but both McCormack and Somma may find themselves among his substitutes again with United's manager disinclined to alter a team in form.
Left-back Federico Bessone is expected to be fit after suffering a calf strain at Vicarage Road and United's injury list should be limited to the four players who have been missing since the start of the season.
Robert Snodgrass and Billy Paynter are in the early stages of their comebacks, and Ben Parker is also edging towards full fitness. Patrick Kisnorbo's return from a ruptured Achilles tendon is likely to take until the turn of the year.
United, meanwhile, are expecting more than 6,000 of their supporters to attend next week's Championship clash with Barnsley at Oakwell.
Leeds have already sold more than 5,700 tickets, with around 1,000 remaining for their first Yorkshire derby of the season.
The turnout will be United's biggest away following for a league fixture since 2005 and will outdo the 4,240 tickets sold for last month's draw at Nottingham Forest.
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Weather for Leeds
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -2 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: South
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Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 5 C
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