What Ao Tanaka openly admitted in the dressing room after Leeds United beat Middlesbrough

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One suspects Ao Tanaka was not the only one guilty of letting emotion get the better off him as Leeds United took one giant step towards a return to the Premier League during Tuesday’s 1-0 win at Middlesbrough.

Leeds United is always a pretty emotional place to be at the best of times.

But, even by their standards, the last few months have seen fans, players and coaches alike go through the entire spectrum of human feelings.

From the sky-scraping highs of those dramatic late wins over Sheffield United and Sunderland, to the frustration and the fear which set in after dropping points against Portsmouth, Queens Park Rangers, Swansea City and Luton Town.

In the blink of an eye, Daniel Farke had gone from never needing to buy himself a pint in West Yorkshire ever again to seeing his contributions questioned as an ever-feverish fanbase Leeds fanbase started to wonder if their beloved club would, indeed, fall apart again.

Arguably no player epitomises the vertigo-inducing highs of February and the lows of March quite like Ao Tanaka. From imperious to, well, not so much.

Ao Tanaka ‘in tears’ as Leeds United scrape past Middlesbrough

Daniel Farke feels Tanaka has been an ‘outstanding’ signing at £3 million from Fortuna Dusseldorf. But, as he lost the ball in the build up to Luton Town’s early opener at Kenilworth Road, Farke admitted the Japan international had been slightly ‘patchy’ since winter turned to spring.

Tanaka’s frustration, then, was understandable. The Leeds midfielder saw a goal wrongly disallowed late in the first-half at the Riverside. The same fate that would befall Patrick Bamford in the second.

So, with the full-time whistle eliciting a huge sigh of relief amongst not only the travelling fans but also those on the pitch, Tanaka could not help but let the tears merge with the sweat.

“It is fantastic for our supporters, for the team because they are also nervous. I just had Ao Tanaka in the dressing room in tears, crying,” Farke explained at full-time.

“I said ‘what happened’? In his England [he said]; ‘I am just so empty and tired and the pressure…’

“They are young lads. It’s so, so difficult when, after the last game, you had to deal with some criticism or whatever. It’s not that easy.”

Farke ready for the run-in as Leeds prepare to host Preston North End

A two-time promotion winner with Norwich City, Farke is keen to ensure Leeds now build on the momentum of only a second win in seven games.

“They give their life to defend the shirt and I see the spirit every single day,” the German adds. “But I still have to make sure we can do better and hold the standards high and make sure I give them some trust.

“For them, it is also good to see again we are top of the league for their confidence. But, for me, its more like OK, I knew there are always twist and turns in the last few games. Brilliant night tonight but we have five games to go and we need to go and win as many as possible.”

Leeds’ record in early kick-offs is well-documented, and they will be praying for a rare spot of lunchtime delight when Preston North End arrive at Elland Road on Saturday.

Oxford, Stoke, Bristol City and Plymouth Argyle are the club’s final four fixtures.