It was never going to be easy but one word underpins Leeds United's promotion credentials - Graham Smyth

For a club that has been through as much as Leeds over the past 16 years, some unexpected adversity was to be expected.

Brentford’s 1-0 win over Preston North End means Leeds can’t earn promotion just yet by beating Barnsley, so it won’t happen tonight. But it’s going to happen.

Not because ‘lightning can’t strike again surely to goodness haven’t we suffered enough?’ or because Leeds’ body of 2019/20 work deserves a fitting reward. It’s going to happen because of one word – trust.

Sitting behind the Leeds dugout on Sunday gave a glimpse into the anxiety Bielsa is carrying through this period. Studying his pendulum-like movement as he paces back and forth across the technical area could induce nausea. He is trying to remain calm, because that aids decision making, yet it’s clear for all to see just how badly he wants his second season to end properly.

That raging desire to succeed might have manifested in a stream of extensive tactical instructions. Yet Bielsa, who admittedly had plenty to say throughout the game, managed to limit himself to one- or two-word reminders. Two years of working with these players, two pre-seasons and almost two full campaigns of drilling his ways into their bodies and minds has left them in no doubt as to their roles and responsibilities.

When Bielsa speaks, from the touchline, it is usually just to encourage repetition.

‘Again,” has become his watchword.

An attack breaking down for the umpteenth time against another compact defensive set-up might have drawn a string of expletives from the head coach as it would from a number of his peers. “Again,” was all that left his lips in the direction of the players involved. “Very good Patrick, again.” “Again, Helder. Again.”

Whatever it was Bielsa muttered to his coaching staff, with palms open in an expression resembling disbelief, never left the technical area. Instead, Bielsa trusted that a key word or two would be sufficient because the intricacies of the plan are, by now, second nature to these players.

That was evidenced in the 89th minute when Luke Ayling received the ball in his own penalty box, looked up to see space into which he ran and then, with time short and players to aim at up top, he decided not to swing a hopeful ball towards the Swansea area.

Instead, Ayling made a short pass to Mateusz Klich and continued his run, confident that he would receive the ball back. Helder Costa did indeed slide a pass into the channel, Ayling raced towards the byline, pulled the ball back in the knowledge that someone in a charcoal and pink shirt would get on the end of it.

Pablo Hernandez was that someone and, arguably, the most important goal of the season was the result.

Ayling’s decision making was excellent but it required trust – trust in his team-mates’ ability to make that move happen, trust in his own pace to get past a defender, trust in the process, trust in Bielsaball.

The greatest proof, perhaps, that the players are fully invested in their head coach, is that when the pressure is on and time is against them, in the searing heat of battle, they adhere to the plan.

They had Bielsa, almost all of these players and the same plan last season and ultimately it failed, you might venture.

The players seem to trust more than ever, despite having gone through that experience, despite having had to continually meet physical demands that must regularly test their willpower.

They have bought in, completely.

When things went awry, midseason, and faith outside the camp wavered, Bielsa was crystal clear: “We believe more than ever in ourselves.”

And now they’re on the cusp of proving they were right to do so. In the Premier League they will play and in the history books they will be remembered, because in Bielsa they trust.