United’s caretaker head coach Neil Redfearn was pleased for his players after recording a 1-0 home win over Bolton Wanderers on Saturday.

Stephen Warnock’s first half strike gave United the lead but it was Marco Silvestri who made a string of saves throughout the game that helped secure the victory.

“I thought that we played some good stuff, particularly in the first half,” said Neil. “But I felt that we were hanging on a little bit during the last 20 minutes.

“We perhaps rode our luck a little bit and we need to learn how to finish games off. But I thought they deserved the win.

“They earned their luck and they worked hard. We even had the strikers tracking back, which is good.”

The Academy manager reserved special praise for 17-year-old graduate Lewis Cook who started his first league game at the weekend.

“I thought Lewis Cook was the best player on the pitch by a mile,” stated Redfearn. “To be honest with you it wasn’t a difficult decision putting Lewis in.

“He is a top player and is going to be an outstanding footballer.

“He has got half a yard of pace as well. That gets him into tackles and it gets him to second balls. His range of passing is there to be seen.

“He is such a level headed kid and I have told the president that playing at Elland Road won’t faze him.”

When asked after the game about the head coaches position Neil didn’t rule himself out but said he has a big job on at the club’s Academy.

“To be honest with you I’ve not really put it in my mind,” added Redfearn. “I had the meeting with the president on Thursday last week and he asked me to look after it for him and I said that I would.

“I’ve got a big job on at the Academy, we’ve had a lot of change up there and we are still getting players through.

“We showcased some of them on Saturday against Bolton and they are just the tip of the iceberg. I am a servant of the club, I work for the club and I’m helping out.”