THE club may be more than £70 million in the red, but Leeds United took on another debt last night and this time it was one that they were more than happy to accommodate. If they are to survive relegation after one of the most traumatic seasons in their history, it is to Mark Viduka that they will owe considerable gratitude.

The Australia forward took his tally in the past seven Barclaycard Premiership matches to 11 goals with the double that accounted for Fulham at Elland Road and lifted Leeds above the London side to the comparative safety of fifteenth place, six points clear of West Ham United with three matches to go. Both Leeds and Fulham need four more points to be mathematically safe from the drop, but on the evidence of last night’s one- sided affair it is Fulham who will be fretting most.

Timing is everything to Viduka, who struck in the fourth and 49th minutes to earn a glowing tribute from Peter Reid, the interim Leeds manager, but not before Reid revealed that the striker had incurred his wrath the previous day.

“Mark Viduka is a fantastic footballer, but his goalscoring is better than his time-keeping, which leaves a lot to be desired,” Reid said. “He was late for training yesterday and I had to drag him in for a rollicking. I asked him for two goals and he duly delivered. Can you believe that? He’s something else. He’s been unbelievable since I came here and his record speaks for itself. He’s a talented boy.”

This victory owed as much to Leeds’s superior hunger and desire as it did to Viduka’s cool-headed finishing. Fulham were disappointing at best, but Leeds never allowed their opponents to settle and Reid appreciated the effort put in by his players in the fifth of his eight matches in charge.

“This is a big result and the players deserve all the credit,” Reid said, “but we must keep working hard because other teams around us keep picking up points as well.”

Leeds have been waiting all season for a white knight to ride to their rescue and he has duly arrived in the form of Viduka. Home supporters chanted his name at the final whistle and little wonder.

Viduka handed Leeds the perfect start by opening the scoring with almost his first touch of the game. Fulham’s defence allowed him acres of space in which to meet Gary Kelly’s right-wing corner and direct a firm header past the helpless Maik Taylor in the Fulham goal.

Leeds had their tails up but squandered several chances to extend their advantage. Jason Wilcox powered a firm volley wide of Taylor’s right-hand post, while Eirik Bakke wasted a surging run through the heart of midfield by scooping his shot over the crossbar.

The home side needed a second goal for comfort, although Fulham were finding it difficult to get out of their own half. When the visiting team did manage to venture into foreign territory, the best efforts that they could muster were long-range shots from Sean Davis and Elvis Hammond, both of which failed to trouble Paul Robinson.

Viduka put the result beyond reasonable doubt with his second goal, four minutes after the interval. He sent an unstoppable low shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area after Taylor had done well to block Harry Kewell’s initial effort.

Fulham showed few signs of being able to respond, a fact that will have troubled Chris Coleman, the caretaker manager, who was soon brought down to earth after the euphoria of his side’s victory over Newcastle United in his first match in charge.

“I know Elland Road is a hard place to come and play, but that was unacceptable,” Coleman, whose side must play Chelsea, Everton and Charlton Athletic in their remaining fixtures, said.

“Effort is not good enough and the first goal was a comedy of errors. We can do much better. We’ve got three massive games left and we still need a result from somewhere because we are still in a dogfight.

“To go a goal down so early at Elland Road is asking a lot. We talked about it in the dressing-room at half-time, but I don’t want to go into that. There are a lot of things to work on.

“We have a massive game at Chelsea this weekend and if we play like that the result will be much worse than 2-0. At least this is another reminder that we are still in trouble.”

LEEDS UNITED (4-4-2): P Robinson — D Mills, M Duberry, D Matteo, I Harte — H Kewell, G Kelly, E Bakke, J Wilcox — A Smith, M Viduka. Substitutes not used: N Martyn, R Bravo, N Barmby, M Kilgallon, Simon Johnson.

FULHAM (4-4-1-1): M Taylor — S Finnan, A Melville, M Djetou (sub: Z Knight, 9min), J Harley — J Inamoto (sub: B Hayles, 46), S Legwinski, S Davis, L Boa Morte — L Clark — E Hammond. Substitutes not used: M Herrera, F Sava, J Collins. Booked: Boa Morte, Hayles.

Referee: N Barry.

Relegation run-in

Birmingham City: Saturday: Middlesbrough (h). May 3: Newcastle (a). May 11: West Ham (h).
Aston Villa: Saturday: Everton (a). May 3: Sunderland (h). May 11: Leeds (a).

Leeds United: Saturday: Blackburn (h). May 4: Arsenal (a). May 11: Aston Villa (h).

Fulham: Saturday: Chelsea (a). May 3: Everton (h). May 11: Charlton (a).

Bolton Wanderers: Saturday: Arsenal (h). May 3: Southampton (a). May 11: Middlesbrough (h).

West Ham United: Sunday: Manchester City (a). May 3: Chelsea (h). May 11: Birmingham City (a).