Wilfried Gnonto details behind the scenes help from Daniel Farke and his Leeds United teammates

Wilfried Gnonto has moved to underline the role Daniel Farke and his Leeds United teammates played in helping him to rediscover his confidence at Elland Road. Gnonto has the chance to write his name into Leeds folklore this weekend when United take on Southampton in the Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium.

The Italy international bagged eight league goals over the course of the regular season for the Whites and he recorded a remarkable assist last week as Leeds saw off Norwich City. He'll be determined to build on that form then and make an impact for the Whites on the biggest stage possible to help win promotion back up to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

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However, it's fair to say this season could have gone very differently for Gnonto after refusing to play and handing in a transfer request last August in an attempt to force a move away from the club. Leeds refused to budge on their stance that Gnonto would not be sold and his actions led to the winger being told to train on his own at Thorp Arch, away from his first-team teammates.

The Italian did manage to patch things up with Farke and his teammates and he scored on his return to the fold against Ipswich Town. But after missing a handful of games with an ankle issue, Gnonto visibly looked short of confidence and form as he struggled to secure a spot in Farke's starting XI.

With that turbulent period behind him, Gnonto is undoubtedly in a much better place now and he has some key personalities in the dressing room to thank for helping him through.

“It's really important for a player to feel like someone trusts you and I feel like the coach has been like this with everyone, to be fair. He has been quite fair," Gnonto said in an interview with Leeds Live.

“Everyone has had chances. At one point, I probably feel like I needed someone to just come and be honest. When we speak about the different people, the coach, for example, Stuart Dallas and Coops (Liam Cooper) and Cree [Summerville], Glen [Kamara], so many players came to me and they actually helped me a lot.

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“I feel like in my confidence, you can see because I'm quite confident as a person, but you have different moments throughout the season. And at different moments when I didn't feel that confidence, I'm really grateful for everyone in this team. I just want to achieve our goal and keep going and see what's going to happen in the future.”

Gnonto is expected to start the all-important promotion showdown at Wembley Stadium this weekend and while he does have the experience of playing for his country, it’s fair to say Sunday could be the biggest day of his short career so far.