How Leeds United are winning the battle to beat relegation: Insiders reveal Ethan Ampadu's vital role, the surprise player-bonus plan, The Flying Pizza visits, the new best-in-class training facilities and the 'no d***heads' policy

Leeds are not falling apart again. On Monday night Daniel Farke ’s men defied history in a confident 2-1 victory at arch-rivals Manchester United that was considerably more comfortable than the scoreline suggests.

With six games to play they are six points above the relegation zone and look well set to repeat last season's trick of securing Premier League safety in the coming weeks.

A remaining batch of fixtures that includes visits to fortress Elland Road from the doomed duo of Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burnley means that, while nobody is getting ahead of themselves, relegation fears are fading into the distance, perhaps southbound down the M1 towards London.

Speaking of the capital, there is also the not-insignificant matter of a Wembley FA Cup semi-final, against another old foe in Chelsea , for which club officials believe they could have sold double their allocation of 33,000.

In recent years, April with Leeds in the top-flight has been a time of tension, nervousness, nail-biting and pending doom. But the emotion this springtime is excitement. Indeed, should Wolves be seen off on Saturday, the champagne will be dunked into ice.

Leeds players celebrate their victory at arch-rivals Manchester United on Monday that was considerably more comfortable than the 2-1 scoreline suggests

Noah Okafor, the £18m signing from AC Milan, celebrates scoring his second goal at Old Trafford

So what's changed? According to those who know, the chaos of their last spell at the top table has – eventually - provided clarity.

On May 28, 2023, Leeds were relegated to the Championship, their fate sealed by a 4-1 home defeat by none other than Tottenham . A frenzied car-crash of a season had seen four people in charge, with Sam Allardyce arriving in a desperate final throw of the dice following the tenures of Jesse Marsch , Michael Skubala and Javi Gracia.

An inquest identified a lack of leadership and resilience. ‘A lot was learned from how we bowed out,' one insider explains. 'How quickly it evaporated. There was little unity. Tyler Adams, who had been influential, got injured in training in March and never played for us again. It didn’t feel like anyone else was willing to step up.’

The first steps at addressing the leadership vacuum came a month later. Daniel Farke was appointed manager and Ethan Ampadu was signed on a four-year deal from Chelsea. As Daily Mail Sport has previously reported, Farke impressed not only because of his track record of guiding Norwich City out of the Championship but with his declaration at his interview that he'd never been backed in the top flight and was determined to show what he could do if given a chance.

Ampadu was only 22 but was quickly deemed to possess the attributes that the club had been lacking. Following 49ers Enterprises’ takeover, the club had data coming out of its ears, but character is one of the more difficult qualities to measure.

The Wales international had experienced an unwanted hat-trick – three relegations in a row with Sheffield United and Venezia and Spezia in Italy’s Serie A. To some that may have been ominous but to Leeds and to Farke it was a positive.

Ampadu was clearly a talent, but was also a veteran of battling the drop. The fact that he had been willing to play abroad at such a young age (he had also played in Germany) in a country where the stakes are high also impressed. To perform well at Elland Road takes character and those who had worked with Ampadu, whose father Kwame made hundreds of league appearances for clubs like Swansea and West Brom, relayed that he had it in abundance. An initial fee of £7million made it a no-brainer.

Ampadu was captain a year later after turning out to be everything officials had hoped and now anyone brought to the club needs to have the mentality to perform under pressure. Ampadu made his professional debut at the age of 15 so has a track record of racing ahead of schedule. On Monday night, he ran the show from midfield in Manchester, exposing exactly what United are lacking.

Captain Ethan Ampadu (left) has been vital to Leeds' success, showing the temperament to lead the side through a tough sesaon

Ampadu ran the midfield against United, showing Leeds' opponents the sort of drive they lack

But Ampadu’s influence stretches beyond the field. He is a standard-setter and a leader and one story neatly captures his influence. One of a captain's jobs at a club is to negotiate player bonuses in a pre-season meeting.

Often, the captain comes mob-handed, with senior members of the squad. It's understood Ampadu prefers to take responsibility and hold those talks on his own. His view is that the players ‘speak with one voice’. Often, the squad tries to manage the downside and secure what are, essentially, payments for failure. Not Ampadu who, ahead of last season said anything short of promotion would be unworthy of recognition, and that bonuses should only be paid if the mission was achieved. Officials were impressed.

Ampadu is also instrumental in regular team visits to an Italian restaurant which has long been a Leeds United haunt. The Flying Pizza is in Roundhay, three miles north of the city centre, which helps because it is on the way to the more well-heeled parts of the region where players tend to base themselves. Its links with the club stretch back to its 1974 opening. Howard Wilkinson, for example, wore caps bearing its name in the early 90s glory years.

Indeed, such is the venue’s loyalty to Leeds that a group of officials from Barnsley, who had been regulars, were once stunned to be told they were not welcome after they had had the audacity to sack Whites legend Allan Clarke as their manager.

There is also a group togetherness that has been absent in recent Premier League campaigns. During the last international break, French goalkeeper Illan Meslier and Belgium-born defender Pascal Struijk went to New York together.

Others have followed in the Ampadu mould. ‘There are no metrics on leadership,’ explains one insider. ‘We can define speed, goal contributions, XG, but there isn’t defined data on leadership. But we wanted to put together a squad that would stick together, show resilience and respond well to adversity. To do that involves a lot of conversations.

'You can get a sense of who a player is, how they have been shaped by their experiences. How they have reacted to adversity. Did they perform well when times got hard, or were they looking for the exit door?

'In that summer of 2023 Victor Orta, the director of football, left. He put everything into it but with hindsight he was perhaps too influential. When he left, we had to pretty much start from scratch and it was chaotic but it gave us the chance to build from scratch.’

James Justin has also been superb for Leeds this season. Like Ampadu he has been hardened by suffering relegation in the past

Dominic Calvert-Lewin may have only scored once in the last 10 matches but his streak of seven in six contributed to what may turn into a season-defining spell

Another standout performer and leader this season also has relegation on his CV. James Justin put in an energetic, powerful and intelligent performance against Manchester United - and capped it off with a crowd-pleasing robust, yellow-card earning challenge on Matheus Cunha which sent the Brazilian up in the air.

Leeds paid £10m last summer for the defender, who had been one of the few consistent performers in Leicester City’s relegation season. Justin had made close to 150 Premier League appearances and again passes the strength of character test.

‘Everyone says they have the “no d***heads” All Blacks policy,’ the Leeds insider adds. ‘We don’t call it that but it has been a huge focus under Daniel.’

Dominic Calvert-Lewin may have only scored once in the last 10 matches but his streak of seven in six contributed to what may turn into a season-defining spell. He's another to bring experience and is often at the club’s Thorp Arch training ground delivering advice to some of the younger squad members. He is seen as a gamble that has paid off.

Speaking of Thorp Arch, a series of improvements concluded in October. The aim was to set Leeds aside from the other clubs likely to be fighting relegation. While some may see Leeds as traditionally a big club, much bigger than many of the others battling the drop, facilities can be a deal-breaker when it comes to attracting talent. Work carried out on the changing rooms and gym mean they are best-in-class.

Around £1m was also spent on a state-of-the-art pitch similar to that at Spurs’s new stadium, which has been built to match the dimensions at Elland Road.

Above all of this is the manager. Farke is a calming presence who does not get too up or down on the back of results. A series of draws, when victories would have been fairer, has not triggered panic. His message to the players has been to destroy that ‘Leeds are falling apart’ mentality.

It appears they've listened. As Daily Mail Sport revealed last summer, the club’s owners were considering bringing someone else into the hotseat ahead of the season. They will no doubt be happy they chose not to. They harboured private reservations over whether the German could adapt to life in the top flight where his side would not enjoy 60 per cent possession and a boatload of chances each game.

Farke has shown that he can, but he has also demanded a key role in recruitment to allow him to do so. Many of the success stories have come as the result of his own recommendations, while on the pitch his switch to a back three at half-time during a loss to Manchester City in November has helped transform his side's fortunes.

'Daniel Farke deserves huge credit,' says a Leeds source. 'He was clear that we needed to put character first and it was great to hear the fans singing his name on Monday night’

There is a group togetherness at Leeds that has been absent in recent Premier League campaigns

‘The data does not scream James Justin,’ explains another well-placed source. ‘Daniel deserves huge credit. He was clear that we needed to put character first and it was great to hear the fans singing his name on Monday night.’

Joe Rodon, another mainstay in defence and another Farke man, has also been key. It has not been lost on those at Leeds that the £45m deal that took Archie Gray to Tottenham allowed them to bring in the players that have put them in a position that Spurs would now kill for.

This is English football in 2026 and so none of the above would have been possible without money. To that end, 49ers Enterprises deserve credit. Last season the Americans provided £108m in capital funding. After relegation in 2023, Leeds owed £187.6m in transfer fees. Within two years they were actually owed £8.6m.

In preparation for this season they spent £100m and that allowed them to sprinkle some stardust. Noah Okafor, whose two goals at Old Trafford secured a first league win on enemy soil since 1981, cost £18m from AC Milan. Around £12.6m went on infrastructure at Elland Road and Thorp Arch. Work has already started on lifting capacity from 38,000 to 53,000. A Wembley Cup final may well be on its way. It feels like these are exciting times and the finish line is in sight.

Far from falling apart, it would appear that Leeds are building.