WANDERERS have come a long way since they skulked out of Elland Road with a 1-0 defeat back in August.

Fans are onside again, the club feels united again, and even in dour encounters like this you expect Neil Lennon to find some way to take a result, even if he felt short-changed with a point.

The chief worry for the Bolton boss is that for all the progress made, some crucial ingredient is missing. His proverbial cake lacks icing, particularly with Chung-Yong Lee away in Australia.

Even when the South Korean star was under his command Lennon warned not to pile too much pressure on him be the sole creative source.

Zach Clough filled in impressively in his absence last week and was desperately unlucky to miss out through injury but to expect a 19-year-old, however talented, to fuel a charge to the play-offs is Roy of the Rovers stuff.

Eidur Gudjohnsen can certainly be relied upon for a touch of quality, saving a point here with an ice-cool penalty, his first goal for Wanderers since returning for a second spell.

But the ex-Barcelona man admits he is still feeling his way back and neither he nor fellow veteran Emile Heskey would have expected to play a full 90 minutes so soon after signing for the club.

Chung-Yong might well be gone for good, and that leaves Lennon with a hard-working, honest team. But not one that shouts out “play-off contenders,” however good a story that might be.

While the new manager has solved a few problems on the pitch, off it, he has inherited his predecessor’s frustration at the lack of flexibility in the transfer market.

Dougie Freedman could instantly reel off half a dozen targets which had slipped through his grasp at the last moment.

Lennon has already started his own list and it would be a catastrophe if it extended much further at such a crucial stage of the season.

Wanderers did not hit their stride at all against Leeds, a side equally workmanlike, whose only touch of class was supplied by wide man Sam Byram.

Indeed it was full-back Josh Vela who caught the eye once again, showing a calmness on the ball and eye for a pass that will surely see him pushed forward into midfield before much longer.

While he is in the back four he is certainly learning on the job, and Tim Ream and Dorian Dervite – both of whom had uncharacteristic off days – were glad of his cover on a handful of occasions.

“I thought Vela was outstanding again; he’s playing really well,” Lennon agreed after the game. “There may be an opportunity to push him forward eventually when I get a few fit, but in the meantime I have been very pleased with him.”

Referee Andy Woolmer had one of those days when he seemed to get nothing right, starting with a penalty against Andy Lonergan for a challenge on Byram in the second minute.

The Whites keeper appeared to pull his hands well clear of the advancing winger as he skipped through a worryingly static back line.

Leeds fans screamed for a red card to be issued, and puzzlingly Woolmer didn’t even deliver a caution.

But Rudolph Austin didn’t wrap himself up in the confusion, rolling the penalty into the bottom corner to give his side the perfect start.

An unmarked Steve Morison should have buried a header a few moments later, forcing Lonergan into a fine save, after which the Whites rediscovered their poise a little.

Charlie Taylor picked Heskey’s pocket as he struck for goal at close range before Matt Mills skimmed the post with a header.

Wanderers hadn’t got their passing game going in midfield but were still creating chances at set pieces.

Liam Feeney’s corners were a dangerous weapon in the swirling winds and led to a Liam Trotter header hooked off the line shortly before the break.

Soon after the restart Gudjohnsen had his goal.

An equally soft penalty was awarded against Luke Murphy – who challenged Pratley for a thigh-high ball on the edge of the box.

Gudjohnsen stepped up and slammed in his first goal for Bolton since May 2000.

Wanderers failed to seize the momentum and the game went flat for a long spell, neither side showing any degree of creativity around the penalty box.

Gudjohnsen drove one volley at defender Liam Cooper – appealing his shot was blocked with an arm. But ref Woolmer was not about to make it a hat-trick of dodgy penalties and waved his appeals away.

Craig Davies came off the bench to bring a decent save out of Marco Silvestri but it was Leeds who came closest to winning it, the excellent Byram bringing another good save out of Lonergan.

Another academy graduate Tom Walker came off the bench at the bitter end – emphasising either the quality of player being produced by Wanderers, or the lack of options at Lennon’s disposal, depending on what you prefer to see.

Neither manager could complain with a point in the end but the urgency in Lennon’s voice as he spoke of “losing patience” in the transfer market said a lot.

“I know a lot can get done in the last week of the window,” he said. “But in terms of necessity – I need one or two in now.

“I need to get some players fit again but also get some bodies in because the players need a hand now.”

Lennon insisted the decision to throw untested youngster Walker on at the end was not a nudge to chairman Phil Gartside, nor owner Eddie Davies.

“I can’t think like that,” he protested.

But he knows his side will need to improve somehow if they are to continue climbing the Championship table.

“We can play better than we did today and one point out of six isn’t great. But there is still a lot of football to be played,” he said.

“The encouraging thing is that I know we can go and play better.”