Javi Gracia addresses specific and 'vital' Leeds United concern as he fights fires before Fulham

As he purred about the defensive concentration applied throughout the game by his back line, the Spaniard dropped in a phrase which is creeping more and more into the English game's conversation

"The defenders did an amazing job, they were all the time paying attention, rest defence, controlling the players," he said.

"You know how difficult it is to keep concentration in all the game, it was the key. The way we were focused."

Rest defence is simply how conscious a team's defensive players - generally speaking the back line and central midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 - are of their position and their distances from team-mates, while their forwards attack. It's an alertness to potential danger and a means of protecting the team should the ball be lost.

When Leeds were out in Spain for their World Cup break training camp, barely a phase of attacking play would go by without one of Jesse Marsch or his coaches yelling 'rest defence' at the players.

In a set-piece session that pitted staff members against first team players in an attack v defence scenario, Adam Forshaw playfully called out first team coach Ewan Sharp when he and the staff lost possession and failed to prevent Willy Gnonto from breaking out.

"Easier said than done Ewan, eh?" teased the midfielder.

Truer words may not have been spoken all season, particularly in light of the way Liverpool profited from Leeds' disorganisation in Monday night's beating.

For Mo Salah's first goal, Liverpool's second, Weston McKennie was the one to lose possession deep in the Reds' half of the pitch, while his midfield partner Marc Roca was positioned wide left and unable to offer any cover. Diogo Jota broke into the acres of space left free, a three-on-three occurred with Rasmus Kristensen caught upfield, and Salah hit the net.

The visitors' fourth started with Leeds attacking on the edge of the Liverpool area, and though both McKennie and Roca were behind the play neither could get near the ball as it was passed around the American and down the left where with Kristensen up attacking, Robin Koch had to pull across. He didn't get the ball, a cross came in and Salah once again hit the net. That one looked and felt more about Liverpool's incredible quality than the Whites' disorganisation. Players were in positions you might expect them to take up, with at least half a mind on the possibility of a counter attack and yet they were largely powerless to prevent one.

Therein lies the rub, for although rest defence is 'vital' for Gracia in some fixtures, it's difficult to manage against high calibre players and counter-attacking specialists.

"I think it's something vital in some games when you are attacking, when you have more possession," he said.

"In all the games, it's important to be well-organised but in some games, even more in the last games against Palace, Liverpool, if you don't pay attention in that moment they hit you on the counter. Some goals in the last game came from these situations. We tried to avoid them but it was impossible to do it because we're playing against very good players, very good teams and we have to know."

The difficulty of defending when world class attackers are running at you and zipping the ball about with breathtaking inter-play does not absolve Leeds from conceding in that fashion but as Gracia points out, they aren't alone in suffering this way.

"It's hard, it's difficult for all of us but not only for us, for the rest of the teams as well," he said.

"Of course, we want to focus on ourselves and we work in the way to have good reactions after losing, to get better situated to defend well on the counters, but after that, the quality of some players that we could see in the last game decide many of those situations. We are working on that, from my arrival it was one of the important things I tried to improve."

Rest defence is just one of a number of fires Gracia will have been fighting this week in preparation for the game at Fulham.

The Cottagers' first goal in their 3-1 win over Everton came as they counter attacked from a defensive intervention and found the Toffees' midfield stuck in advanced positions. Marco Silva has players who can hurt you when you lose the ball, but he also has players who can hurt you from all kinds of areas and situations. Earlier this season, in the FA Cup, Fulham progressed at Leeds' expense with two world-class strikes that proved the difference between the two sides.

Since then Fulham have lost five and won once, stopping the rot with that Everton victory last weekend. Leeds did appear to be on the right track, albeit after dropping the next game after the FA Cup exit 1-0 to Chelsea. Drawing with Brighton, beating Wolves and Nottingham Forest presented Gracia with a reassuring points haul.

Yet the last two games have delivered a distinct impression of wheels coming off, 11 goals flying past Illan Meslier. The scorelines and parts of those performances were deemed 'unacceptable' by Gracia this week. Besides the rest defence issue, he wouldn't be drawn on the problems he identified in the wake of Liverpool's rout but is once again working to restore balance to this Leeds team. The urgency of his challenge is greater now than ever and while scoring goals, plural, will be key, plugging leaks and reasserting defensive organisation would at least give them a chance to stay in matches, in order to stay in the division.

Gracia believes it can be done.

"The problems I talk to them about, it's not the right place to talk about them here," he said.

"I can say only we are working on it, it's evident we don't have the right balance we've had in previous matches and I wish that we showed that we can do it and I think we can do it again.

"But I spend time with the players and I know how they are suffering in this moment and how they're working to improve the situation and that they are able to change and they are able to change because they've done it staying with me and I believe in these players, and I'm sure all together we can compete the way we have done."