Leeds boss Simon Grayson watched his side end a horror run of form with a dramatic win over Burnley and declared: “We can achieve anything”.

Three successive defeats as part of a four-game winless run had seen 42-year-old Grayson, who is carrying the burden of chairman Ken Bates’ public demand for promotion with him, come under scrutiny from even the most loyal of fans.

That only looked set to intensify when Charlie Austin fired Burnley ahead with 21 minutes left, some 40 minutes after his side had lost Kieran Trippier to a second yellow card.

But Leeds were given a leg up by Brian Easton’s 86th-minute own goal and then turned things around in the fifth minute of injury time, when Ross McCormack pounced on goalkeeper Lee Grant’s error.

This sent his manager off on an emotion-charged run down the touchline that had shades of Jose Mour-inho at Old Trafford in 2004.

“I’ve had a bad knee and I thought it might go but it showed the passion and belief of everyone,” said Grayson of the late drama.

“I wasn’t going to just stand on the touchline and accept it. We can achieve anything because the division is so tight. A couple of wins gets you up there.”

In Grayson’s own words, Leeds were “embarrassing” in losing 4-1 at Barnsley on Saturday and he stayed true to his pledge to change things around.

He made five alterations to his side, the most notable of which was giving a debut to on-loan Tottenham winger Andros Townsend.

Both of Trippier’s cautions came for fouls on the livewire winger and it was his shot that Grant spilled into McCormack’s path.

Grayson said: “He’s a real talent. He’s played against us a few times and (Spurs manager) Harry Redknapp rates him highly.

“He trained with us briefly – he had his boots sent to us by taxi the morning of the game. I might try and send the bill to (Bates’ home) Monaco!

“With five minutes to go, we were staring down the barrel of another defeat. I thought we played well and had enough chances. I’m delighted we stopped the rot. It’s massive for us.”

Burnley boss Eddie Howe pinpointed the dismissal of Trippier as a key moment.

His second foul on Towns-end did appear soft at best and Howe was in no doubt as to how crucial a decision it was.

He said: “At 11 v 11 I thought we were the better team. The ref changed the game with a really poor decision that made it a difficult afternoon for everyone.

“The second booking isn’t even a foul and it was a big decision to make; a disgraceful one.

“Townsend told Kieran he slipped. Even if it was a foul, the referee has to use common sense. But I thought Townsend was excellent and we had aimed to keep him quiet.”