Blackwell agrees new Leeds deal

Blackwell has taken Leeds to third in the Championship

Leeds United manager Kevin Blackwell has agreed a new three-year contract.

Blackwell's current deal was due to expire at the end of the season but he was happy to commit his future to the club after meeting chairman Ken Bates.

"I am delighted," Blackwell said. "There is nowhere else I would like to be and it is an honour to manage here."

Blackwell was assistant boss at Sheffield United before becoming Leeds' head coach under Peter Reid in 2003. He took charge himself in June 2004.

Bates feels Blackwell deserves his new contract for building a team that is challenging for promotion at the top of the Championship.

My immediate focus is on getting Leeds out of the Championship and back to the Premiership where we belong Kevin Blackwell

"I am a big believer that if it ain't broke you don't mend it," Bates told the Yorkshire Evening Post.

"Kevin wasn't going to be allowed to go anywhere else."

Blackwell is excited by the potential at Elland Road but says his first target is to take the club back into the top flight.

He added: "I feel the club is only at the start of something good. I am positive we can go on and achieve good things.

"I can look to the future now and we can make plans.

"But my immediate focus is on getting Leeds out of the Championship and back to the Premiership where we belong."