United's first-team coach looked on with satisfaction as Leeds swept aside Tranmere Rovers at Prenton Park, a victory which seemed to lift a weight from the shoulders of Simon Grayson's squad.

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By the standards of both men, it marked a step forward for a club whose form has been inauspicious if not exactly disastrous.

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Snodin was well aware of the discontent brewing in Leeds after two wins from 11 league matches. A sense of concern was never more evident than last Saturday when a 1-1 draw with Brentford provoked booing from the terraces.

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The 50-year-old understood the frustration but saw no signs of a squad in terminal decline.

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Though some will speak of a rejuvenated club as Leeds make their way to his former club Southampton tomorrow, Snodin maintains that United's problems looked worse from the outside than they did at close quarters.

"In the past I've been at clubs where the coaches have had to deal with demoralised players or a squad who've lost their confidence," said Snodin.

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"I can think of times when players arrived for training with their shoulders sagging and you wondered how you were going to pick them up. It hasn't been like that here.

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"People might think that the lads have been down or depressed about the results, but they've never shown any negativity.

"It's been smiles on the training ground and positive thinking. You probably won't believe that, but they haven't let the results get to them. We all felt that a result like Tranmere was around the corner.

"Don't get me wrong, you could sense a bit of anxiety among the supporters. I think the booing after the Brentford game came down to frustration, and I know were they were coming from.

"Some of the results have been frustrating, but when you saw what we saw on the training ground every day it gave you confidence."

Snodin's infectious attitude is designed to breed confidence but even he seemed affected by the strain of United's finely-balanced season during a 1-1 draw with Brighton last month.

The fixture ended in a touchline scuffle involving Snodin and Mauricio Taricco, Albion's assistant manager, instigated by the injuy-time equaliser from Robert Snodgrass which staved off a second successive home defeat.

Gustavo Poyet, Brighton's manager, said the celebrations of United's backroom staff exposed a club under pressure, a fair observation at a time when Leeds' were as close as they have come to losing hold of second place in League One.

A draw with the Seagulls was not, by United's standards, a good result.

It was, however, the first of five matches without defeat which have preceded tomorrow's fixture at Southampton, a period in which Leeds have accumulated nine points and regained an air of consistency.

Tuesday's 4-1 defeat of Tranmere equalled their second-highest victory of the season and yielded their most convincing scoreline in a league fixture since Bristol Rovers and Yeovil Town were both dispatched by four unanswered goals in the space of five days back in October.

Grayson maintained his composure at Prenton Park, insisting that the scale of their victory on the Wirral should not blind his players to the difficulty of the closing stages of the season.

United's next four fixtures alone look crucial, beginning with Southampton, ending with Swindon Town and lining Leeds up against Millwall and Norwich City in between.

The club's chairman, Ken Bates, summed up the second half of March aptly when he said: "The next few games will go some way to deciding our fate and that of the teams we play."

Snodin said: "These are big games in terms of the clubs we're playing, but you don't get minor games at this stage of the season. It's too late in the day to be saying 'we better win here but it doesn't matter if we draw there.' You don't have that luxury.

"Each result will make a huge difference to the league. We've seen that in the last couple of weeks. Huddersfield were on a great run but two bad results have held them back. Swindon as well – their results were fantastic, absolutely fantastic, but they've hit a little sticky patch.
There's pressure everywhere.

"We've been up and down in terms of our results, but the big thing for me is that we've never lost second place. People have been talking about us being out of form but we're still in second and five points ahead of Charlton. You don't become a bad team overnight."

Saints manager Alan Pardew agreed with that sentiment this week, complimenting Leeds as "the best team in the division".

His club were deservedly beaten at Elland Road in December, losing to a second-half goal from Snodgrass. The match was notable for the way in which United's centre-backs – Richard Naylor and Patrick Kisnorbo – bullied Rickie Lambert, Southampton's prolific striker, mercilessly.

Pardew's squad has changed since then, improved by five signings in January. Among them was Lee Barnard, the former Southend United forward who Leeds also tried to recruit with an unsuccessful offer of £175,000.

But, despite Southampton's investment, their season is becoming a legacy of their recent insolvency and the 10-point deduction imposed on the club before the start of this season.

Sixteen points shy of sixth-place, qualification for the play-offs is virtually beyond them, though not in Snodin's eyes.

"If you're looking for a club who could make a late push then they might be the one," he said. "They've got a quality squad and a very good manager.

"We can't go there thinking they've got nothing to play for.

"I'd be pleased to see them in the play-offs. I found out what a great club they are when I coached there (in 2006) and Southampton's a proper footballing city, just like Leeds.

"I'll be delighted if we beat them, but they've got my respect."