Only time will tell whether the return of one of football management's most durable survivors proves to be a success or as uncomfortable as climbing back into a pair of wet swimming trunks, but, for the time being, Terry Venables will have to get by against a backdrop of scepticism.

The man charged with succeeding where David O'Leary failed breezed into Elland Road for his introductory press conference yesterday, all smiles, matey winks and neat little one-liners. Sports journalists being a decent bunch, by and large, this was not the time to inform him that, of the voters in one poll which asked, What will El Tel bring to Leeds? 10 times as many opted for "karaoke" ahead of "tactical nous".

Given that Venables was effectively the third choice for the job, that it is more than a decade since he won his only domestic trophy, the FA Cup, and the dog-eared nature of his cv (author, disqualified company director, nightclub owner, property developer, wannabe crooner and, when time allows, football manager), perhaps a little disparagement is only to be expected.

What has swiftly become apparent, however, since Venables and Peter Ridsdale did lunch on the Costa Blanca on Saturday, is that the Leeds chairman has appointed someone capable of restoring harmony to a dressing-room that had become increasingly disaffected during the last six months of O'Leary's turbulent four years in office.

The charm offensive aimed at keeping Rio Ferdinand from the clutches of Manchester United is undoubtedly his priority, but Venables spent his first day at the club's training ground setting about repairing some of the damage left by his blundering predecessor.

His tete-a-tete with Lee Bowyer will not prevent the transfer-listed midfielder pressing ahead with a £9 million move to Liverpool - "he's upset about a few things here," Venables explained - but there was enough positive interaction elsewhere to make it a good day at the office.

First and foremost, Venables had heard from his business adviser, Leon Angel, whose company Base Soccer also has a part-interest in Harry Kewell, that the Australian had been so disenchanted with life under O'Leary that he had been questioning his future under the previous regime.

Alarmed by what he heard, Venables immediately set about weaving his magic. In an arm-round-the-shoulder chat after training, Kewell was praised as being "genuinely world-class", as well as being assured he can play a more advanced role next season, rather than the left-wing role in which he was stagnating under O'Leary.

Kewell has subsequently told friends that he "couldn't be happier with the appointment".

Venables will need all his powers of persuasion to convince Ferdinand to stay, and the Leeds fans will be mildly concerned by the disclosure that Venables does not intend to stick around to greet the club captain and player of the season on his return this weekend from his holiday in Miami.

Without going into extensive details, Venables explained that he had contractual obligations with one of his other business interests and would be spending at least a week in the Seychelles on a working holiday. He will then join his players towards the end of their pre-season tour of Australia and the Far East.

He will not see Ferdinand, therefore, for up to three weeks, and the negotiations will have to be conducted via mobile phones.

"I'm confident we can keep him," said Venables. "I will be emphatic when I speak to him that if he stays here we can go right to the top."

Nevertheless, Venables will not win over his doubters by passing over the first opportunity to see his team in action.

And it is difficult to imagine regular 5.0 a.m. starters such as Alex Ferguson or Arsene Wenger allowing themselves to be exposed to accusations of divided loyalties.

Perhaps sensing an accusatory tone in the air, Venables hastily expressed his commitment by revealing he hoped to earn an extension to his initial two-year contract.

"Never winning the league rankles with me and this is certainly an opportunity. Just look at the players I've got," he said. "I don't think I have ever been at a club, even Barcelona, where there is such a wealth of talent in forward positions.

"We need action rather than words, but I'm sure we can be successful and, yes, I would like the chance to stay on longer."

He will retain O'Leary's backroom staff of Brian Kidd, Eddie Gray and Roy Aitken, stating that "nobody has done anything wrong", but raising the £15 million in transfers that the Leeds plc board need to ease debts is already proving a complicated business.

Bowyer's impending sale will raise much of that amount, but Olivier Dacourt, incensed by reports that Ridsdale is going behind his back to engineer a transfer to Juventus, has reiterated that he has no intentions of leaving Elland Road, as has Robbie Keane in the face of continuing interest from Sunderland.

"I would like to keep them all, but the fact is that I can't," said the new manager with a sigh.

With a power-cut blacking out the later stages of his press conference, he will quickly have to learn that life at Leeds is never straightforward.