Leeds United: Consistency is the goal for in-form Doukara '“ Ritchie

He has got all the raw essentials really such as pace and power – but he just needs to perform on a more consistent basis now for me.

He’s still not been consistent enough over a run of games for me, but now that he is having a run in the side because of the injury to Chris Wood, he really has to take it and push himself and the signs are encouraging in that respect.

In his position, he has got to make sure that when Wood is fit again, that it is not just a case of him just walking straight back into the side.

That is what he has to do; plant a seed in the manager’s mind that he can be relied upon and be counted on and maybe for him (Evans) to think: ‘Well, hold on a minute.’ When maybe four weeks ago, he would have just put Wood straight back in if he was fit.

In the back of Steve’s mind, it might be a case of him now thinking: ‘We are doing all right at the minute and if Wood is fit, maybe I can ease him in from the bench as Doukara is getting a foothold there.’

But Doukara is only going to be able to do that if he keeps his performance levels up.

He did well on Monday and it does looks like he is getting some consistency and he needs to keep that going now. I also thought Liam Bridcutt did okay and he had a good partnership in midfield with Toumani Diagouraga. I actually didn’t realise who tall he was, he’s a really big lad!

Overall, I thought Leeds played well on Monday against Boro and put them under a fair bit of pressure and defended okay too. A draw was probably a fair result in the end.

Leeds looked as if they were determined not to be beaten and showed a real spirit and some of the defending at the beginning was ‘bodies on the line’ stuff. Maybe Leeds got a bit lucky with the Jordan Rhodes ‘goal’ as the ball wasn’t out as it was on the line, but that is the type of luck you sometimes need and Leeds more than deserved a draw.

That sort of performance was a welcome relief. Leeds won’t go down and aren’t in any danger in the Championship and are safe and maybe now is the time in the league to play with a bit more freedom.

With not having three points at stake this afternoon, that will be the philosophy in the FA Cup today at Watford as well. It’s the fifth round and it would be really great if Leeds could get through.

If they do, they could be onto something all of a sudden. Then it would be the time when you start to really think about things and realise you are suddenly having a good run.

Leeds, as always, will have a great following down there and if they get through, it’s also a pay-day and a chance to get one of the top sides left in the competition maybe.

It’s good that Leeds head down there on the back of a decent performance on Monday night. It was quite encouraging against Boro and they must now do that more consistently and it will be what they are looking to do next season on a regular basis.

After Monday and performing like they did against a side near the top of the league, they have now got to go to Watford and have a real go for me. Just go for it and see where it takes them.

They have got attacking options in the likes of Mustapha Carayol and Mirco Antenucci worked hard yet again against Boro and obviously Doukara is on form. He just needs to get a few more goals.

So even though Wood is out, Leeds still have options in the final third, which is good.