Leeds United boss Simon Grayson believes the most fitting tribute to Gary Speed would be to lead the club to the Premier League this season.
On an emotional day at Elland Road, family, friends, former players and fans turned out to mark the sad death of Speed who died last Sunday.
On the pitch, Leeds cemented their place in the play offs with a comfortable 2-0 win over Millwall thanks to two goals from Robert Snodgrass.
The win keeps the pressure on the teams above them, with Leeds handily placed in fifth place in the championship as we head towards the second half of the season.
Grayson was full of praise for the Leeds players and fans after the game and he is now hoping to honour Speed even further by securing a return to the Premier League at the end of the season.
Grayson speaking after the game said, “It`s been a very difficult week for everybody who knew Gary.
“But our fans can be proud of the way they have conducted themselves and so can the players for a performance which has been befitting to Gary`s contribution to this club.
“The biggest tribute we can pay him come April and May is to get into the Premier League, where Gary spent a huge amount of his career and was very successful.”
Speed was part of the last Leeds side who won promotion from the second tier of English football in 1990.
Leeds have now spent eight seasons outside the Premier League following their relegation in 2004.
They have even had a three season spell in League One for the first time in their history, but they have been on an upwards trend since the arrival of Grayson, who will have been with the club three years later this month.
Let us hope that the man who signed schoolboy forms on the same day as Speed can lead us to a return to the top flight.
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