The experienced striker has contributed to a revival which has taken Leeds to within one victory of a top-six finish in League One, and his sole regret is that the 46-match season will run out with United nearing their peak.

United are almost assured of competing in the division's play-offs but their results over the last seven games have cut the gap between themselves and second place from 14 points to nine with just two fixtures to play.

Gary McAllister's side will complete their term with Friday night's game at Yeovil Town and next weekend's clash against Gillingham, and automatic promotion will be beyond their grasp unless the arbitration panel reviewing United's 15-point penalty shuffle the league table at the last minute.

But Freedman paid tribute to United's squad for holding their nerve at the most pressurised point of the season and admitted the club are heading for the play-offs with the perfect mindset after four wins from their last five games.

Freedman said: "I've spoken before about how crucial it is to be hitting good form at this time, and I'm very encouraged by the way we're playing.

"In a way I wish there were 10 games to go because in this sort of form we'd have every chance of finishing second.
"We've been cutting the gap between us and the teams above us and it's a shame that the games are going to run out before we can reel them in.

"But when I first came here the play-offs seemed to be the most likely route for us and back then there was no certainty that we'd make it.
"Our performances have come together at the perfect time and it says a lot about the mentality of the players here.

"I didn't know too much about the squad and I didn't know whether they'd be able to cope with the pressure which comes at you in the last few weeks of the season.

"For a short while it seemed like it might be too much for some of the players, but we haven't frozen and we've got good momentum behind us.
"What impresses me most is the way the younger players have handled it –
the lads like Paul Huntington at the back and Jonny Howson in midfield. Promotion challenges ask big questions of you but they're coming through it with no problems.

"They'll cope fine with the play-offs."

Freedman has been credited by McAllister with helping the younger members of his squad through what for many is their first experience of a promotion campaign.

Howson cut his teeth last season as Leeds fought unsuccessfully against relegation from the Championship, and Huntington's previous outings with Newcastle United came during a term when the Tyneside club finished five points above the Premier League's bottom three.
Freedman is providing the older head in a team which has had a youthful feel ever since McAllister took charge at Elland Road.

His line-up at Millwall had an average age of 24, and Freedman was the only player over the age of 30 included in United's starting side.

The on-loan Crystal Palace striker has scored four times in eight league starts, including an important brace against Carlisle United at Elland Road, but of greater value to both himself and McAllister has been his contribution to United's all-round performances.
"I'm different to a lot strikers in that I don't judge myself on the number of goals I score," Freedman said.

"You get players who set out looking for 20 or 30 a season, which is obviously a great target to aim for, but one thing I try to tell younger players is not to get too fixated by or bogged down in how many times you score.

"It's important that a striker does their job but I've always paid most attention to my performances as a whole.

"That's what I've been most pleased with at Leeds so far.

"People look for you to take goals but I think there's an onus on you
to make them as well.

"I also think that the number of goals you score is less important than what your club achieves.

"To me, this season is all about promotion.

"That was the one thing I came here for. If I scored 20 times in the next three games it wouldn't ease the horrible disappointment if we lost a play-off semi-final.

"We're just about certain to finish in the top six but I think the players see that as another small step towards where we actually want to be.

"It's not the achievement we want to be talking about when the season finishes up.

"The big one's still to come."