David O'Leary has promised to take the Intertoto Cup seriously if it proves to be Leeds United's only route into Europe next season.
Defeat at Tottenham yesterday, following Saturday's loss at home to Manchester United, means Leeds are struggling to claim the fourth Champions League place.
They may also miss out on the UEFA Cup unless Arsenal or Chelsea lift the FA Cup, leaving the much-maligned Intertoto Cup as a realistic proposition.
"If you have another chance of getting into Europe if you fail through the league, then I think you have got to take it," said O'Leary.
"We have seen teams who have gone into Europe via the Intertoto and done well. The one scenario is that it messes up your pre-season a great deal.
"If we have players away at the World Cup with England and the Republic of Ireland and they do well, then they will need a break, so the Intertoto is not good in that way".
O'Leary knows that failure to qualify for Europe may result in him having to sell players to balance the books. He said: "I work for good people and the plc board has told me what is required on the financial front depending on where we go. It does not match the speculation which has appeared in the media.
"I may have spent £60 million but there is a lot of quality money there. People in the past have spent money and maybe there hasn't been a lot to show for it, but I am sitting on a lot of diamonds here and if we have to raise some money it won't be a problem".