I wrote some time ago that I thought Leeds United would be relegated this season. Even when we were battling well and even scraping wins, you cannot leak as many late goals as we did and, quite frankly, lose as many games and expect to stay in the league you're in.

Let's forget about being in the Championship. Let's forget - as so many of us tried to do on the long journey home from Cardiff last year - that we were so close to the Premiership. These are just names of leagues, featuring teams that play each other week in and week out. Let's remember that we have had a glorious past; let's remember Don Revie and Howard Wilkinson, Billy Bremner, Lucas Radebe and all the rest, but never forget that we are talking about the past.

Last season we were simply not good enough to remain in the league we were playing in. Whether we were/are a big club is completely irrelevant, as is the name of the league. We were not good enough to win football matches last season and, though the name of the league changes, we have to get that winning capability and mentality back again.

Like many people, football fans or not, I have a really challenging and busy job. For the most part I enjoy it and therefore things are generally successful; but only because I break things down into achievable chunks - things I can influence directly or make a difference over. If I really thought about the past, about who I was and what I could have done, or about the daunting challenges to come and their uninvited relations, expectation and necessity that all sit on my shoulders at the same time, I would be paralysed into worry and fear and self-doubt. In short I'd stop winning and things would stagnate or go backwards.

Leeds United need to be given the chance, financially, emotionally and technically to break free of the cracked mirror. What we see before us is what is, not what might have been or once was but not what could or should be either. This is the here and now. Of course we want to start winning again and moving through the leagues. Of course we want to hear successful team results and reports on Saturday evenings or share positive things on BBC Radio's 606 on the way home from a game. But let's just settle for that, for now.

Hopefully the creditors will give us credit for what the new owners are trying to do. Whether we like Ken Bates or Dennis Wise or even whether or not we trust them is really immaterial because we cannot influence what they do and neither do we have options available. Let's not stress over anything other than turning up for that first game in August and cheering the team to one victory in one game; then let's do the same for the next one.