Chairman Ken Bates was in relaxed mood as he made it clear that United were now in the "driving seat" when it came to recruiting players.

 With striker Jermaine Beckford having turned down the offer of a new contract with the club, the chairman said: "We have had no inquiries yet but that is not unusual at this time because the season has just ended and most managers, scouts and coaches are away winding down.

"They come back in the middle of June and start thinking. But we are in no hurry. Jermaine is with us until June 2010 and if we don't get what we consider to be a reasonable offer, we will keep him," he said.

The chairman said that central defender Sam Sodje, who has been released by Reading, is on United's list of possible signings. "He has done well for us after he joined us in January but, again, he has to decide what he wants to do," said the chairman.

"But the great thing about Leeds is that we don't have to beg anyone to join us or stay with us. We are in the driving seat.

"A lot of players want to come to play for Leeds and we will choose those who want to play for the club and are prepared to accept reasonable wages but that is down to our manager," he added.