HE WAS STANDING IN A corridor off the media centre at Elland Road, mid-sentence in a typically pugnacious explanation as to why Leeds United should survive, when Peter Reid’s foot became stuck to the floor courtesy of a carelessly discarded piece of chewing gum. As sticky situations go, it was the least troublesome of the two he found himself in on Saturday.

On the afternoon when his beloved Sunderland were relegated, Reid’s new charges had taken a small but significant step towards salvation with the draw earned against Tottenham Hotspur by Mark Viduka’s penalty and when you are paid by the point, as Reid now is, such gifts are not to be sniffed at. With five games of his eight-match tenure to go, Leeds are probably only one win from safety (no team has gone down with 41 points since the Premiership was reduced to 20 clubs). Can they do it? Their next home fixture is against Fulham. Enough said.

A little earlier, Reid had preached caution with a reminder that he had suffered relegation with Sunderland despite reaching 40 points and despite people telling him for weeks that they would be safe. With more time to reflect on the graft, if not the guile, evident in Leeds’s performance, he was upbeat. “There’s an anxiety about the place and we need to have the confidence to get hold of the ball and pass it. What do they call it? Bottle? That’s what we need,” he said. “But the way we went about it today, our commitment, I can see us getting enough points.”

They surely have the quality, too, despite being forced to sell so many of their leading performers. His employers may still have debts of £80 million but Viduka retains that most priceless commodity, an ability to seize a chance, and he followed up his hat-trick in the demolition of Charlton Athletic with the brace — a cute finish for the opener and the spot kick awarded for Kasey Keller’s grappling foul on Harry Kewell — that probably dealt a terminal blow to Spurs’ hopes of qualifying for Europe.

If Reid is confident that Leeds will pull through, so too is Robbie Keane, whose departure to Spurs had revealed the extent of the financial crisis at Elland Road. “When I left it was a fantastic squad and it still is,” he said. “They still have tremendous players in every position. I’m sure they will stay up.”

Keane had given Tottenham the lead with a determined run and dazzling finish, not long after Teddy Sheringham had poached their equaliser, but although Leeds wobbled, they did not collapse. “Three months ago at 2-1 up we would have gone on to win, with Leeds in such a fragile mental state,” Glenn Hoddle said. As a tribute to Reid’s impact, the Tottenham manager could not have put it better.

Leeds United (4-4-2): P Robinson 5 — D Mills 5 (sub: J Milner, 63min 4), M Duberry 5, L Radebe 6, I Harte 5 (sub: J Wilcox, 74) — G Kelly 5, D Matteo 5, E Bakke 4, H Kewell 5 — A Smith 4, M Viduka 6. Substitutes not used: N Martyn, N Barmby, Simon Johnson. Booked: Bakke. NEXT: Newcastle United (a). FORM: DWLLLL

Tottenham Hotspur (4-4-1-1): K Keller 5 — S Carr 5, L King 6, A Gardner 5, M Taricco 6 — S Davies 5, G Bunjevcevic 5, G Poyet 5 (sub: M Etherington, 87), D Anderton 5 — E Sheringham 6 — R Keane 6. Substitutes not used: N Sullivan, C Perry, M Acimovic, K Toda. Booked: Keller. Next: Manchester City (h). FORM: DWLLLD

Shots on target: (h) 6 (a) 4. Fouls: (h) 13 (a) 10. Offsides: (h) 6 (a) 2.