Why Aleksandar Mitrovic's late Fulham winner didn't send shivers through Leeds United's Luke Ayling

The Leeds United defender was sitting in the ice bath at Middlesbrough’s Riverside stadium, with three points and a clean sheet already secured, when he learned of the Cottagers’ late, late show.

Mitrovic’s powerful header ensured the gap between second-placed Leeds and third-placed Fulham remained five points, just when it looked like the Whites would creep a little further clear of the play-off places.

Ayling admits to keeping tabs on results elsewhere, but the Fulham score was not his immediate priority when he entered the dressing room following the victory over Middlesbrough.

“I sat in the ice bath and I looked at the Champions League results first,” he said.

“Then I got told that [Fulham had] scored a 94th-minute winner.

“Us boys have learnt from that last year.

“I feel like we looked at other teams fixtures quite a lot but us boys have learnt from that so, hopefully, we can continue our good form and keep winning games.

“We’re bound to look at their games and the table but we know where we are and we know if we keep winning it’s in our hands.”

Leeds have every right to be confident, with three 1-0 wins on the trot restoring some wiggle room between them and the chasing pack and bringing to an end their shakiest spell of the season.

During that dip in form it felt like they had lost some of their defensive solidity, which meant their traditional struggle to convert chances became even more of a problem.

Opposition teams have still managed to create chances, albeit few of them, since Marcelo Bielsa’s men returned to winning on a regular basis and Kiko Casilla has been called into action to make a small number of vital saves, but it is now 335 minutes since they last conceded a goal.

“Three clean sheets on the bounce is always nice,” said Ayling.

“We went a long time without getting one and it can fill us with massive confidence.

“I think [Boro] only had one shot on target which was late on and came off our player.

“I think that’s a big positive for us. In the last four games I don’t think teams have had many shots against us.

“We know that if we have a good base back there that the boys up top will take care of the rest.”

The atmosphere around the club feels a lot cheerier than after the 2-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest, when what was once an 11-point lead over the play-off places was wiped out entirely and only goal difference separated Leeds from Fulham in third.

Bielsa expressed the opinion during that rocky patch that the fans had lost faith in the team, but he, the staff and the squad believed more than ever.

Ayling gave a post-match interview on the City Ground pitch after the Forest defeat and his demeanour was decidedly downbeat.

But he insists Leeds believed, like Bielsa, the wins would soon return.

“Us boys in the dressing room knew we could come out of that little spell,” he said.

“After that game it was a real low point for us.

“We looked back at the game and I think we actually played better than what everyone thought.

“Our gaffer pretty much said that we played really well so we took a lot of confidence from that then came out at Brentford and probably played one of our best games of the season and should’ve got more than a point.

“We’ve scored a few goals now and kept clean sheets. Now we’re on a little bit of a roll but us boys know that it can change quickly in this league.

“There isn’t any resting, we’ve got a big game on Saturday.

“It’s a 12.30pm kick-off and we need to be ready for that.”

The preparations for a trip to the KCOM began at The Riverside and will overlap the debrief from the midweek game.

There’s little in the way of time for the turnaround.

“We come in straight after the [Boro] game, we all sit in an ice bath for 10 minutes and then we go in [to Thorp Arch] Thursday and go out for a jog,” said Ayling. “We’ll get back in the ice bath and then have a video to go over this game to put it to bed.

“We’ll come in on Friday and do a light session to be ready for Saturday.”

Getting physically ready is only part of the challenge for Leeds.

Saturday brings a Yorkshire derby, against another team with plenty to play for.

Hull City have slipped to within four points of the drop zone and Ayling knows the Whites will have to be ready to scrap and battle if their run is to continue.

“You’ve seen in the Championship that any result can happen,” he said.

“Hull are scrapping for their lives.

“It’s a derby game so I’m sure there will be a few more fans in the stadium.

“It’s going to be a hard game; they’re all going to be up for it.

“Hull are scrapping for their lives and they’re desperate for three points – but so are we.

“Hopefully it will be a good game and we can show some fight like we did [at Boro] and get a few more goals.”