WHEN EDDIE GRAY JOINED Leeds United in 1963, they were floundering in the old second division. “It happens,” Gray said after defeat away to Southampton on Saturday left his team at the foot of the Barclaycard Premiership. “Leeds United will be OK.”

As the only club in a big city, Leeds should recover one day from the crisis that is dragging them into the Nationwide League but will it take a year or a decade? Sheffield Wednesday did not stop falling until they landed in the second division and their problems were not of this magnitude. Big football clubs have their boom and bust cycles, as Gray was implying, but Leeds are on such a breakneck slide that it is hard to see where it will end.

An announcement to the Stock Exchange today should confirm that they have been given another two weeks by the bondholders to find new revenue but it is a hand-to-mouth existence. A wage deferral by the players seems inevitable before their next match at home to Middlesbrough and, although Leicester City survived that blow to morale as well as administration, they were chasing promotion at the time rather than fighting against relegation.

Miracles are required but Sheikh Mubarak al-Khalifa appears to be offering only a mirage. Trevor Birch, the chief executive, who is exploring every avenue to avoid administration, said that he “needs to see the colour of his (the Sheikh’s) money” after a succession of empty promises. Allan Leighton, the former vice-chairman, has been talking to rich friends in the city but they have been alarmed by the fragility of the club’s Premiership status.

Leeds should reach the end of the transfer window without losing any of their best players, particularly now that Mark Viduka has told Middlesbrough that he has no great desire to move to the Riverside, but they will need to win at least two of their next three games against Middlesbrough, Aston Villa and Wolverhampton Wanderers. It is not impossible because, even in defeat on Saturday, Leeds had the best players on the field in Alan Smith, Jermaine Pennant, James Milner and Seth Johnson, who had his most influential game for the club in the holding role in central midfield.

They deserved a point and might have secured one had a deflection from Michael Svensson’s shin trundled over the goalline rather than across it seven minutes from time. As the ball seemingly took seconds to decide which way it was going to veer after bouncing off Svensson and then the post, 22 players stood transfixed. Leeds were stuck a point below Wolverhampton Wanderers when it dribbled away from goal.

Paul Robinson twice came charging into the Southampton penalty area for set-pieces in the last few minutes as the most visible sign of his club’s desperation. It showed, at least, that the players are aware that they cannot leave their recovery any longer. The previous Saturday’s meek surrender to Tottenham Hotspur might not have happened had Smith been playing, the striker chasing back fully 80 yards in the last minute to win the ball.

On his own up front for more than an hour, Smith was fiercely dogged and determined but Leeds were undone by dreadfully careless defending. Matthew Kilgallon was probably the best of the back four and yet he was mostly culpable for Southampton’s opener. Flat-footed, he slipped as Brett Ormerod ran at him and the striker hit a crisp, low shot into the corner from just inside the area.

Dominic Matteo, Michael Duberry and Lucas Radebe cannot return soon enough but first out of the team will be Zoumana Camara. When Gary Kelly rolled the ball back to the centre half, he allowed it to slip straight under his foot and Kevin Phillips ran on to an easy finish. It was the forward’s first Premiership goal since the opening day of the season and his desperation to make sure it was not his last led to countless wasted shots at goal.

The whispers from the boardroom were that Gordon Strachan might not have the chance to see out the season had Southampton lost and, with trips to Manchester United and Arsenal in their next three matches, the manager’s position remains insecure. Not, though, as tenuous as Leeds’s grip on their Premiership status. They battled away, particularly after Kilgallon’s close-range header reduced the deficit in the 75th minute, but the next team meeting may be called to ask them to take a wage deferral. “It’s not a healthy situation,” Gray said. What the fans fear is that it could yet get much worse.

Southampton (4-4-2): A Niemi 5 — J Dodd 5, M Svensson 5, F Hall 5 (sub: D Kenton, 81min), D Higginbotham 4 — F Fernandes 5 (sub: P Telfer, 86), D Prutton 5, R Delap 5, A Svensson 4 — K Phillips 5 (sub: J Beattie, 86), B Ormerod 6. Substitutes not used: A Blayney, M Pahars. Booked: A Svensson. NEXT: Manchester United (a). FORM: WLDLLW

Leeds United (4-5-1): P Robinson 5 — G Kelly 5, Z Camara 3, M Kilgallon 5, I Harte 4 — J Pennant 6, E Bakke 5, S Johnson 7, J Morris 5 (sub: M Bridges, 66 5), J Milner 6 — A Smith 7. Substitutes not used: S Carson, Roque Júnior, N Barmby, F Richardson. Booked: Camara. NEXT: Middlesbrough (h). FORM: LLLLDD

Shots on target: (h) 8 (a) 7. Fouls: (h) 16 (a) 8. Offsides: (h) 0 (a) 3

Referee: A Wiley 6. Attendance: 31,976