Leeds' woes continued on Monday as the Elland Road club turned their search for a new manager into a farce and striker Alan Smith closed in on a move to arch-rivals Manchester United.

Kevin Blackwell had been expected to be confirmed as Leeds boss on a two-year contract, but the board have now had to backtrack because Steve Parkin's proposed takeover of the club advanced during the weekend.

Blackwell was last week on a shortlist of three, which also included Rotherham's Ronnie Moore and Peter Jackson at Huddersfield, and was interviewed on Wednesday.

Following a board meeting on Friday, the 45-year-old was rubber-stamped in the job over the weekend and should have been officially unveiled on Monday.

Blackwell, however, was called into a meeting with director Simon Morris and informed he would have to wait until the end of the week - at the earliest and if at all - to be installed.

There remains the prospect that should Parkin conclude a deal he will want his own man in place, leaving chairman Gerald Krasner and his directors looking foolish for opting to undertake interviews and then unofficially handing the role to Blackwell.

Morris told The Independent: "We are still interviewing; it's in the final stages. We had a long list and now it's a very short list."

Director Peter Lorimer added: "We are not ready. We have to look at other options if the one everybody thought it was going to be does not turn out to be the right one."

Blackwell, when asked whether he was at a loss himself to understand the situation, replied: "Yeah. We will have to see what happens now."

Smith will join Manchester United for £7million in one of the most controversial transfers ever completed.

Less than three weeks after he was carried shoulder high around Elland Road by Leeds fans who hailed him a hero, the 23-year-old England international will become the first new face in what is likely to be a summer of change at Old Trafford.

Official confirmation of Smith's move, which is expected to see young full-back Danny Pugh head in the opposite direction, is expected to be given to the Stock Exchange on Wednesday when the player has completed his medical.