Carling clash will remind Leeds of their heyday

If anyone needs a salutary lesson about the distances that a football club can fall, then Liverpool's visit to Leeds United tonight in the third round of the Carling Cup should prove that no football fan can ever take for granted the status of their club.

Eight years ago, Leeds - under the inspirational managership of David O'Leary - had just contested a Champions League semi-final against Valencia and had finished in the top five for three season on the trot. Fast forward to May 2007, and the club went into administration and entered Division 1, where they have remained now for two seasons, unable to extricate themselves from their unlikely surroundings.

This season, at least, has begun brightly for the Elland Road club, as they sit atop their division unbeaten, with 22 of a possible 24 points and a healthy goal difference. Their manager Simon Grayson knows it's a long way to go however until the club can even dream of regular ties against the likes of Liverpool again.

"It's there in black and white," he told the Guardian. "We're in League One and we've been on this downward spiral for the last three or four years. We're slowly trying to get back to where we want to be and when you get occasions like this, it gives you more of an inspiration to enjoy these nights and try to make sure they become a regular occurrence. It's where we want to get back to eventually. But there's still a lot of work to be done."

The last time these two clubs met was five and a half years ago, when a struggling Leeds was still clinging onto Premiership status, and Rafa Benitez was still manager of Valencia, so the trip across the Pennines will be a novelty for him and many of the second string squad members that he is likely to put out tonight. But Grayson has warned them they could fall into a trap by dismissing Leeds to easily.

"I'm not sure they'll realise what Elland Road is about," he said. "They might look at a League One team and think 'we just have to turn up to get a result'. But I'm sure when they walk out five minutes before kick-off with nearly 40,000 in the place, they'll realise what a hostile atmosphere it is." ·