HENRIK Pedersen put 17 months of anguish behind him on Sunday to outgun one of the most formidable attacks in the Premiership.

The dashing Dane - without a league goal in almost a year and a half on the Reebok books - put Alan Smith, Mark Viduka and Harry Kewell in the shade with a double that nudged Wanderers off the bottom of the table and put the smile back on Sam Allardyce's face.

Out of the front line for the previous four games, Pedersen was the unlikeliest of heroes in such esteemed company - Smith having smashed four past Hapoel Tel Aviv in the UEFA Cup three days earlier after the two Aussies had hammered West Ham at Upton Park to suggest that Terry Venables might finally be getting things going in the league.

But while Leeds were going goal crazy in Florence on Thursday, Sam Allardyce was plotting their downfall after spotting something on the training ground that persuaded him to give The Carpenter one more chance to convert his endeavour into goals.

The man from Silkeborg had one of his most impressive games last season in the draw at Elland Road but history had no bearing on his recall.

"It didn't affect the decision either way," Allardyce explained. "What decided me was that I'd seen the release of his tension in training. He'd been a little unlucky to be left out in the first place - only because he hadn't been putting the ball in the back of the net and his chances had diminished.

"But Dean Holdsworth and Michael Ricketts had their fair crack and I'd noticed that in training Henrik had started to score in the small-sided games and in the 11 v 11 games - five from Wednesday onwards. I said he'd score if he got the chance and he scored the two and it could have been three."

Pedersen responded sensationally, scoring the first and fourth goals - and hitting the post for good measure in between - as Wanderers recorded only their third win of the season and their first since their Old Trafford triumph of September 11.

They did it the hard way, committing what Allardyce described as "professional suicide" to twice squander the lead. But when they got their noses in front for a third time, there was no looking back.

The upshot? A well-deserved victory for a team with its confidence restored and players bursting with a belief that they can at last make their quality count in the top flight. And a manager who can draw a good measure of personal satisfaction from having got his planning and preparation just right.

No game was ever won or lost on the training ground, of course, and no-one should take anything away from the players who outperformed and, in the end, outran a lethargic Leeds side. Wanderers' victory was down to 11 v 11 over 90-odd minutes and the better team won.

Nevertheless, Allardyce knew Leeds would be depleted in defence and, although formidable in the attacking department and at the peak of their form after scoring eight goals in five days, they would struggle for stamina the longer the game went on.

And so it proved with three of the winning goals coming in the final 12 minutes.

But it was the selection of Pedersen that proved a master stroke.

The early goal helped but it served only as an overture for a performance that saw the best of Youri Djorkaeff, more breathtaking skills from Jay Jay Okocha and another display of the determination and spirit that is so often taken for granted but which was worth its weight in gold last season and could again prove decisive. They even handled a fundamental switch of formation after Bruno N'Gotty was forced to withdraw in the 58th minute with a calf injury.

By reputation alone, Djorkaeff and Okocha are two of the most famous players Wanderers' fans have had the privilege of seeing pull on a white shirt (yellow in this case). But it is performances not reputations that count and there have been fears that, in the Frenchman's case, his best years were behind him while the Nigerian, who has hit the heights in Germany, Turkey and France, might not reach the levels required in the Premiership.

There should be no worries on either count on yesterday's evidence. Djorkaeff gave one of his most impressive displays, pulling the strings and seeming to inspire those around him to play the passing game that has been in short supply at times this season, whether by design or dictated by circumstances. His pass for Pedersen's well-taken opener set the standard for some quality attacking football.

Okocha, perhaps less influential, was allowed the freedom to use his array of talents to torment the injury-ravaged Leeds defence - the manpower shortage underlined by Terry Venables electing to play Jason Wilcox at left back.

Allardyce, for all his delight in seeing what he acknowledged as this season's best performance over 90 minutes, remains concerned about his defence - not surprising after seeing Stephen McPhail and Harry Kewell fashion Smith's well-taken equaliser within a minute of Pedersen's opener and Smith repay the compliment to tee-up Kewell just three minutes after Djorkaeff had combined neatly with Pedersen to put Wanderers ahead for the second time.

Michael Ricketts' failure to score in open play since January and concerns over his subsequent loss of confidence have been major factors that have lost him his place as leader of the attack. But the way he calmly tucked away his third spot-kick of the season - again with his customary shuffle - to put Wanderers in front for the third time with just two minutes on the clock, suggested otherwise.

Allardyce was bursting blood vessels to get his "switch off merchants" to stop celebrating and start concentrating. But it was Wanderers who had the final word with Campo, who had given the fans a scare or two at the back, and Stig Tofting, making his first Premiership appearance since his assault conviction in Denmark, paving the way for Pedersen's second, a stunning volley at the back post, to make the points safe for Allardyce and life even more uncomfortable for Venables.

"It was lovely," said the delighted Dane. "My first goals in the Premier League.

"I've waited a long time for this. I had a big opportunity at the beginning of the season but they didn't go in.

"Last season at Leeds I had my first start and it went very well for me but it went even better this time. We're off the bottom now and that's nice. We can look forward again with confidence because we have shown we can beat one

of the best teams in the league."

Of the one that got away - the ball bounced clear off the foot of the post after Djorkaeff's precision pass and Pedersen's power and determination had left Jonathan Woodgate floundering - he admitted: "I thought it was in. I was starting to celebrate ... but we still got the win and we deserved it."