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"There is a confidence around the place, which has come from the results we have got in big games. We are back where we want to be, but we cannot lose any focus now. Confidence is a big thing in a player's mind in seeing themselves back in there.
"The message from me to my players though - and we've been at them all this week - is that we can't relax and have a big sigh of relief because we're back in the top six. We've got to really, really push through these five games and finish, to make sure we're the form side at the end of the season.
"It's been a fantastic effort by everybody recently and things have come together. There's a nice air of confidence about the place but that only comes from results, and the players have gone and got the results. There have been some big games recently and we've responded by pushing ourselves back to where we want to be. We cannot lose any focus.
"We need to keep the momentum going. I have seen three of our rivals recently live - Forest, Doncaster and Carlisle. And I feel that, looking at them, the likes of Doncaster and Carlisle have small squads. Their players have been involved in a lot of games. We have a big squad and I feel, going into the last five games, that we have some really fresh legs on the sidelines if needed.
"There is a freshness about us. What I see are strong legs and people on top of their game. It is good to be back up there, but the message to the players is 'we cannot relax'. We must ensure we are the form side at the end of the season.
"Carlisle have done fantastically well to keep going on the back of an excellent home record it's got to be said, their home record has been outstanding. John Ward has done brilliantly. I doubt too many would have predicted Carlisle being up there, but they are and you have got to hold your hands up, they've done great."
"We need to make it as awkward as possible for Carlisle when they are in possession of the football. When we win the ball back we've got to make the pitch very big and try to get the ball down and pass. We need to give them plenty of defending to do.
"I've got Paul Huntington as well as Neil McDonald, he's the expert for that area of the world so he has been giving me the low-down on most of their players, but Neil obviously helps. I'm really pleased that I managed to get up to see them live the other night, rather than depending on DVDs and match reports from scouts. It's always better to actually see them yourself.
"We look forward to Carlisle though, the game is an early kick-off because there was a big crowd up in the game in Carlisle and there will be a big crowd at Elland Road, and again we'll need them. The facts are that we've now gone four clean sheets in a row I think and that's the pleasing thing.
"The passing and the goals, I feel that there are goals in the team and as we get into the real final push I've got people bursting to play. Look at my bench against Leyton Orient and look at the people that I've left off the bench. I've got 18 or 19 players who are well capable of performing at this level, we've got a strong fit squad.
"We're going to be relying on that 19, not just the eleven who started at Leyton Orient, I thought that Paul Huntington was superb there. It's a boost to be in the top six and the players have got to push on, five games left and so much to play for, it should be good fun. We've got to play with the freedom that we played with at Leyton Orient with some good free-flowing football.
" I'll keep my feelings to myself about the fifteen point deduction situation next week but it's just nice to get in there without relying on us getting points back. Then we can sit back and look at who we are going to get."
Leeds have few selection problems for the game with defenders Darren Kenton and Rui Marques both returning to training this week following hamstring injuries, while top scorer Jermaine Beckford should be available to play after recovering from an ankle problem that saw him substituted at Leyton Orient last week. The only players missing for the home side being veteran midfielder Alan Thompson (calf) and left-back Alan Sheehan who starts a two-match suspension.
In yet another late change of officials, the referee for tomorrow lunchtime's match is now Lee Probert from Wiltshire instead of Mark Clattenburg from Consett in County Durham, and he will be assisted down the lines by Dave Bryan from Stamford in Lincolnshire and Phil Sharp from Tring in Hertfordshire. Meanwhile the fourth official is Colin Webster who is from Shotley Bridge, but is affiliated to the Tyne and Wear FA.