The former Leeds skipper has been handed a short-term contract by chairman Ken Bates following Monday's shock departure of Dennis Wise to Newcastle as executive director.

McAllister told Yorkshire Radio: "The job brief is promotion.

"I'm here until June initially and quite simply my job is to come here and kick-start it.

"There's a lot of hard work to be done. They have got themselves in a fantastic position, and that's credit to Dennis and the players.

"When a new manager is appointed late in January it's usually to pick up the pieces of failure, but this is different.

"The boys are in a fantastic position and I'm joining a winning club.

"From outside Yorkshire everyone has been amazed at what's been happening at Elland Road. You have to give credit to Dennis and the players for that.

"Now we have to get back focused for the real target and that's getting out of this league."

McAllister's appointment was confirmed following a meeting with Bates in Monaco yesterday afternoon and he will meet the players for the first time today at Thorp Arch.

The 43-year-old will take charge of his first match at Elland Road against Tranmere on Saturday.

The former Scotland international said he had made no decision yet on his backroom staff and may have to be patient before bringing in a team of his choice.

He said: "There's been a lot of calls put out there already.

"It's happened ever so quickly and you can appreciate the guys that I rate and would love to bring to Leeds are in jobs at the moment.

"So that might be difficult, but there's plenty of people within football that I know and trust and I'm making headway on bringing the right guy to assist me at Elland Road."

McAllister made nearly 300 appearances during a six-year spell as a player at Leeds following a £1million move from Leicester in the summer of 1990.

He helped Leeds win the last Football League Championship in 1992 under Howard Wilkinson before the inception of the Premier League the following season.

Leeds paid £1million to Leicester to bring the Scot to Elland Road in the summer of 1990 and he became part of a revered midfield quartet alongside Gordon Strachan, Gary Speed and David Batty.

He added: "It's a great honour to be back at the club and I can't wait to get in and amongst it.

"I played my best football at Leeds. I was in my prime and we won the First Division, which is a great feat when you look at the teams who have won it since.

"When I left I'll never forget the response I got from the Leeds fans when I went back to Elland Road.

"There's no doubt in my mind that the Leeds fans are among the best in the world.

"I've been fortunate to play in front of them when the juggernaut gets going. Elland Road can be such a daunting place to play.

"That's what we've got to create. We've got eight or nine games left and we've just got to make it such a fortress."