Joe Rodon says Leeds United's maturity and resilience has been crucial to their first season back in the Premier League and left them well-placed to finish it strongly.
If they do, he believes they will be much stronger for the experience.
Victory at home to Brentford on Saturday will set the Whites up well for the final seven matches of the league campaign, which will resume after the international break and FA Cup quarter-finals.
Manager Daniel Farke has set his team a survival target of 38 to 40 points. They currently have 32.
Even with Brentford starting the day in the European places, Leeds' home record, especially in evening games, will raise expectations and heighten disappointment if they do not win. But Rodon says the way the squad has dealt with expectations and setbacks has been a feature of a campaign he feels could have been better still.
"Our main goal is to survive and be in the Premier League next season," the Welsh centre-back said in an exclusive interview with The Yorkshire Post.
"It's been so competitive, probably the most I've seen it in a long time, but I think if you look over the course of the season, midway through we had that dip, and then changed it around and went on a great run.
"I feel like we should be higher than we are. We've had quite a lot of missed opportunities, but that's football.
GRIT: Leeds United centre-back Joe Rodon (Image: Oli SCARFF / AFP via Getty Images)placeholder image
GRIT: Leeds United centre-back Joe Rodon (Image: Oli SCARFF / AFP via Getty Images)
"We've put ourselves in a great position now, and we just want to kick on and finish this off strongly."
The "dip" Rodon speaks of was a run of just four points from eight games from late September to November, during which there were calls for Farke to be sacked.
Burnley are the only one of the five teams below Leeds in the table not to have sacked their manager this season.
But Rodon says the environment Farke has created has been fundamental in dealing with disappointments.
CALM: Leeds United manager Daniel Farke (Image: Matt McNulty/Getty Images)placeholder image
CALM: Leeds United manager Daniel Farke (Image: Matt McNulty/Getty Images)
"This group has shown unbelievable resilience and spirit," said Rodon. "Everyone knows, the teams that come up, that's one of the main things you need.
"You're not going to be the favourites, you're going to be up against the best teams in the world. You have to adapt and you have to realise the situation you're in. Especially after a setback this season we've come straight back at it.
"I think the group has shown great maturity and spirit.
"If we can achieve our targets I'm sure this team is going to be stronger down the line."
TURNING POINT: Leeds United found new belief and a new strategy at Manchester City in November (Image: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)placeholder image
TURNING POINT: Leeds United found new belief and a new strategy at Manchester City in November (Image: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
The pressures as well as the highs can be magnified at a club like Leeds.
"We all know what we signed up for when we came to Leeds," said Rodon. "It's a huge club.
"The ambition and the pressure, it's going to be there all the time.
"There's no one more frustrated as players when we concede in the last minute or don't take the three points. We want to win, we want to be successful. We want to make everyone proud and happy in this club.
"There's going to be setbacks, everyone's learning that. The most important thing is you don't dwell on things, you react.
"The manager has created a great environment here. We have a great balance of young players and experienced players.
"This is the best dressing room I've been in, in club football.
"That's credit to the boss. He's the one who's made this environment and brought us in."
"It was unfortunate not to come away with something but I think that set-up and performance injected confidence into everyone," reflected Rodon. "We just looked at each other as players and going into the Chelsea game, we all said to ourselves, 'It's time to put points on the board. It's time to start winning.'
"One moment can lead to a lot of things. The belief and the spirit in the group just grew and grew. The boys built confidence from that and they've been exceptional.
"The Chelsea game at home was a massive moment, especially winning (3-1) . Those three games in a week were a crucial part for us.
"Everyone just grew from that and learnt from the course of the season. The spirit and the unity was shown. It was just the belief and the players' understanding that we do belong here.
"The unity and the togetherness – not just amongst the players, but everyone involved, the staff, the club and the fans, everyone together – we've just kind of grown from that time of the season and just got better and better."
Saturday's game kicks off at 8pm, and Leeds have been at their strongest this season in floodlit Elland Road matches.
"Some people like playing earlier, some people like playing later," said Rodon. "I guess the atmosphere can be different and you're under lights as well but I don't look too much into that. It's just one of them things.
"We just want to be horrible and as dominant as possible at home in any game, any situation."