By Phil McNulty Chief football writer

Peter Reid is in temporary charge But Ridsdale still faces D-day

Peter Reid arrived at Sunderland on a short-term survival ticket - and stayed on Wearside for seven years.

Reid will now hope his combative style will turn the next seven weeks at Leeds United into a lengthy stay at Elland Road.

The arrival of Reid as chairman Peter Ridsdale's footballing firefighter may be as much of a surprise to him as it did to those who follow the fluctuating fortues of this turbulent club.

Reid was probably settling back for a summer waiting for the phone to ring after his sacking from Sunderland in October.

Now he has received the call from Leeds - and will have his sights set on turning a temporary deal into a permanent contract after the departure of Terry Venables.

Venables leaves Leeds

There will be those who suggest there is an element of panic about the appointment, which came as a surprise with Eddie Gray touted as a potential caretaker.

But one thing that has always marked Reid out is his willingness to confront a fight, whether it was as a midfielder with honours at Everton or as a manager at Manchester City and Sunderland.

And he will relish being on familiar territory on Merseyside when he takes charge of Leeds at Anfield on Sunday.

Reid's teams reflect the man - so Leeds will be built around a no-frills framework as they attempt to escape the Premiership danger zone.

He may have been scarred by the end of his Sunderland career, where he came under fire from fans in his closing months.

But, as in his playing career, the scars will have healed quickly and Reid will be in defiant mood as he picks up the reins again.

He must confront key tasks, the first of which is to instil fighting spirit into a Leeds squad that has been short on that precious commodity in recent times.

Black day for Venables

And he must bring the best out of the Elland Road under-achievers to arrest their slide down the table.

Reid cuts an amiable figure in his role as a BBC Sport pundit, but his track record proves he will not accept a lack of effort or application at Leeds.

The stakes are not just high for Leeds. They are high for Reid.

He knows that if he can perform impressively in the coming weeks, he will present the Leeds board with little alternative other than to hand him the job on a permanent basis.

And when Reid has people to prove wrong, he can be a dangerous opponents.

Now Leeds will hope he can re-ignite the fire in their sullen squad.