Leeds United manager Dave Hockaday has insisted that new owner Massimo Cellino can return Leeds United into Europe's elite.

Currently in the Championship, Leeds have been outside of the Premier League for 10 years and absent from the Champions League since 2001, when they were beaten in the semi-finals by Valencia.

Hockaday took over at Elland Road this summer and after the 4-1 defeat at Watford on Saturday that continued the club's slow start to the season, it was reported that Cellino had decided to axe the 56-year-old.

However, Hockaday's position now seems secure for the time being and he wants to be part of Leeds when they 'inevitably' return to the Champions League.

"When I have a conversation with the president and we talk about the club and the way forward and getting players in, that makes me happy," Hockaday told press today.

"It shows me there's a future for everybody. It shows me that the president, however he is portrayed, is unbelievably passionate about this football club. I am not just saying it, I mean it. This guy wants Leeds to be in the Champions League, he does. I believe over time that will happen.

"I think it's inevitable. The timescale I don't know, I want to be part of that journey, a big part of that journey. I am going to fight tooth and nail to be here for as long as I can, to be as successful as I can."

During his time owning Italian club Cagliari, Cellino went through 36 managers in 20 years.