Why Jermaine Beckford has every faith in Leeds United gaining swift revenge at Manchester United

“1981? Wow.”

He also didn’t know it had been quite that long.

Over 40 years have passed since Brian Flynn slammed home an 85th-minute winner to send the away end wild.

Twenty nine years later, Beckford provoked a similar reaction when netting the only goal of the game as Simon Grayson’s Whites also left Old Trafford with a victory in the FA Cup third round as a League One side.

Beckford became an instant Whites hero and the goal is still heralded from the terraces today.

It’s a slice of history that will never be taken away but would be somewhat replaced should Leeds be lucky enough to bag a winner in today’s Premier League showdown against the arch enemy in the Manchester side’s own back yard.

But that would be quite all right for Beckford who is yearning for a Whites victory and optimistic that Marcelo Bielsa’s Whites can exact revenge from last December’s 6-2 blitz.

“I love this Leeds United team,” Beckford told the YEP.

“I love everything about the way they approach every single game, the manager, the coaches, the staff, the players, the security guards, the dinner ladies, literally every single person connected with the football club.

"So if it means that something that I did a while ago is replaced by some new magic by someone else getting a winner, I will take that hands down. Absolutely.”

Reflecting on the first thing that comes to mind ahead of today’s showdown, Beckford said simply: “Revenge. Revenge for last season’s 6-2 loss.

"It was still a good performance by Leeds, just a little bit naive at times.

“But for the most part it was disappointing because of the manner in which we conceded all of those goals.

“Seeing it now as the first fixture, the opening day fixture, we are going to be well up for it. They are going to be up for it.

“There will be no form guide to go by, there will be nothing other than two massive giants of football clubs coming together and hopefully we will be able to make the result ours this time around.

"I have got every faith.”

Despite being in League One at the time, Leeds also had every faith when heading to Old Trafford for their third round FA Cup clash of January 2010.

There were 42 league placings between the two sides but Beckford’s strike sealed a 1-0 victory that had lasting effects.

“In terms of myself, I don’t think it did change me personally much,” reasoned Beckford.

“When I am on the football field it’s all about getting the job done and the job in hand.

“That, at the time, was scoring as many goals as I could, helping the team to win as many games as we could and get promoted out of the league.

"So in terms of changing me, I don’t think it did.

“But at the same time it did bring, not just myself, but the rest of the players on to another level where the awareness of us as individuals, us as football players and us at Leeds United was huge because we had just beaten the reigning Premier League champions with some of the best football players around in their own back yard as well.

“The thing is, when you play for Leeds United and you have heard the away fans once, you have heard them and it’s something that you look forward to.

“But when 8,500 fans turn up and it sounds like it’s 50, 60, 70 thousand fans I don’t think anything quite prepares you for it.

“You think you are ready for it but there was a moment and a brief couple of seconds where I kind of said to myself ‘woah, this is the real deal here, this really means something to everybody that is connected’ so you can’t help but buy into that as well.”

Now, thanks to Leeds being back in the Premier League, Beckford is delighted that his former club’s fans can enjoy the Red Devils rivalry as a regular league fixture.

The Whites had gone six years without even playing their arch rivals until the FA Cup clash of 2010.

The two sides then met again in a Carling Cup at Elland Road the following September in which a Michael Owen brace and Ryan Giggs gave the Red Devils a 3-1 win.

But another nine years followed until Leeds United versus Manchester United was finally back on the agenda and this time as a league game.

Especially after experiencing it at first hand, Beckford knows exactly what the rivalry means.

“It’s huge,” said Beckford.

“It’s one that I would say hasn’t been forgotten about but put to the back burner for a little while because of the lack of Premier League time over the last 16 years, obviously last year excluded.

“A lot of the younger fanbase hadn’t seen Leeds United in the Premier League and didn’t really understand what that rivalry was and what it meant to some of the more seasoned fans.

“But just being able to see it happening again and renewing that rivalry is a really integral part of being a football fan but mainly being a Leeds United and Manchester United fan.

“It’s one of those really exciting fixtures that you look out for and even as a neutral you can’t help but want to watch it and want to tune in because you have heard of the history and you have seen the manner in which Leeds play especially.

“It’s a very interesting and very exciting time to be a football fan especially.”

Reflecting on how Leeds have fared in pre-season, during a summer of tough fixtures against Real Betis, Ajax and Villarreal, Beckford reasoned: “It’s not so much about the results in pre-season although we would all love to see our team playing every single game and winning in pre-season.

“But I don’t think you learn much about your team if you are steamrolling every team in pre-season without really being tested.

“We have been up against some really tough opposition and it’s been about finding our feet again, getting in the right positions at the right time, reintegrating all of the boys that have been away for international duty and the new players that have come in as well and learning the Bielsa way as well.

“It’s a very intense method that he has got so not many players get it straight away and I am quite happy to see the team playing and losing in pre-season if it means that we are going to know and understand exactly what’s to come when it matters most.”

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Thank you Laura Collins