The Seagull is stranded

United midfielder Ian Westlake, currently on loan to League 1 play-off rivals Brighton and Hove Albion, is unable to participate in this weekend's eagerly anticipated clash between the two sides at Elland Road.

Westlake has impressed during the spell, but the terms of the loan agreement rule him out of contention for Saturday. Seagulls chairman Dick Knight has nevertheless confirmed that the club are looking to extend the player's loan period until the end of the current campaign.

'Ian has done very well for us since coming on loan and obviously we are keen to extend his stay,' said Knight. 'We are not under any pressure to conclude negotiations with Leeds ahead of tomorrow's deadline as the player is already on loan here at Brighton. We have up until the Port Vale game to extend Ian's loan spell and I think it's distinctly possible we could achieve that.'

White's boss Gary McAllister currently has an abundance of midfield options available to him, including the returning Jonathan Douglas, and anticipates no further arrivals ahead of the deadline. 'We have an 18/19 man squad that has been tight and I feel that we have enough there,' he said. 'I don't see there being any changes with the loans.'

Dougie Leeds the way

New signing Dougie Freedman will be looking to put Walsall to the sword in front of the live Sky TV cameras at Elland Road later this afternoon. The 34-year-old hit a brace of goals in his first full start for the Whites against Port Vale last weekend, and according to Leeds boss Gary McAllister, the loanee from Crystal Palace is making a big impression on his new team-mates.

'Dougie should have been on the winning side at Port Vale last week after scoring twice,' said McAllister. 'I was very pleased with him. He is good to have around.'

'Dougie has been taking the guys away after training and doing striker movements with them. It is nice to have someone here who has seen it and done it. The players are responding to Dougie.'

Minus Fifteen romps to victory

Minus Fifteen, the racehorse named after the clubs infamous points penalty, romped to victory in this afternoon's 5.05 at Southwell, beating the rest of the field by a clear five lengths. Tough little battler Katchit landed the spoils to be crowned Champion Hurdler in today's showpiece race on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival.

Leeds boss Gary McAllister has named an unchanged starting eleven for the third game in a row for the visit of Cheltenham Town to Elland Road this evening, with striker Tresor Kandol winning his battle to be fit.

The football rumour mill is again in full swing with reports that Sunderland manager Roy Keane is poised to make a 2 million pound summer move for United's central defensive lynchpin Rui Marques.

Neil Kilkenny - Leeds new Australian dynamo

When Neil Kilkenny starred on-loan for Oldham Athletic in their impressive New Years Day victory over Leeds at Elland Road, he clearly caught the eye of then United boss Dennis Wise, who immediately moved to secure the attacking-midfielder's services on a permanent basis.

A product of Arsenal's Youth Academy, Kilkenny arrived at United via his parent club Birmingham City, with whom he had made an unforgettable Premiership debut in 1995 against Liverpool. The youngster was sent-off for a deliberate handball, conceding a late penalty which would see the Reds scramble a late 2-2 draw.

The Enfield-born midfielder had moved with his family to Brisbane as a child, and subsequently opted to represent Australia, making his debut as a substitute in a 3-1 win against Liechtenstein in a World Cup warm-up game in June 2005. During 2007 he played a vital role in the Australian Olyroos Beijing Olympics qualifying campaign.

Speaking shortly after his transfer to Leeds, Kilkenny admitted it would have been 'impossible' for him to turn the club down. 'When I was playing for Oldham, I thought I'd love to play here every week in front of these fans. I'm very happy to be here now,' he explained. 'This is a massive club and it turns your head when you hear they're interested in you - it certainly turned mine. I had a number of clubs after me, but Leeds - with this stadium, these fans and this manager - were impossible to turn down.'

After opening his goalscoring account for the Whites during yesterday's 2-0 victory over AFC Bournemouth, Kilkenny will be looking to make a significant contribution as the race for promotion to the Championship enters the final crucial phase.

Johnson & Kilkenny pop Cherries

Leeds boss Gary McAllister was left to savour a first home success after his side wrapped up a 2-0 victory over relegation threatened AFC Bournemouth at Elland Road. New signings Bradley Johnson and Neil Kilkenny both notched their first goals for the club, stretching the unbeaten run to five matches, and re-igniting the Whites promotion push.

Johnson capitalised on a mistake by Cherries debutant keeper David Forde, tapping the ball into an unguarded net to give United the lead on 11 minutes. However, Bournemouth squandered several opportunities to equalise before Kilkenny made the points safe on 63 minutes with a low drive from 18 yards. The second successive victory lifted Leeds upto seventh place in the table, just one point adrift of a coveted play-off spot.