Relegation to the Championship has actually proved beneficial to a lot of Leeds United players.
With Leeds having one of the youngest squads in the division, for many it has allowed them to step up and become the main men without the pressures of the Premier League.
Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter are certainly two examples of that. The former showed signs he was ready for Premier League football last season, but a year of ripping up the Championship means he will be far more prepared to deliver consistently at the top level, if Leeds do return.
Rutter, on the other hand, had it very tough after his January arrival from Hoffenheim but the difference between his confidence levels now, and a year ago, is clear to see.
And another player, who wasn’t even at Leeds last year, who has improved ten-fold this season is Dan James, delivering comfortably the best season of his career with 12 goals and seven assists. He had never scored more than four in a single campaign previously.
James had been at a bit of a crossroads in his career after a disappointing loan spell at Fulham but immediate trust from Daniel Farke has clearly paid dividends for him.
BBC Wales journalist says James improvement at Leeds is clear
And it is not just at club level where James has delivered recently, as he scored Wales’ fourth goal of the night in the victory over Finland in the play-off semi-final last week.
A lack of end product is often the criticism which has been labelled at James during his career, but that has improved so much over the course of the season.
Speaking on the latest episode of BBC’s Football Daily Podcast, BBC journalist Rob Phillips says his goal the other night is not one he would’ve had the composure to finish off 12 months ago.
He said: “Dan James has scored 12 goals for Leeds United. Yes they are in the Championship but what you would say, is the way he took his goal on Thursday, the composure he showed at the end.
“We’ve always known he’s had the speed and anticipation, but he showed a composure of a striker in form in front of goal. Maybe a year ago when he wasn’t playing so regularly, even if it was off the bench, maybe he wouldn’t have scored that night.”
What Wales manager Rob Page has said about James
James’ increase in confidence levels is something which has not gone unnoticed in the Wales camp, particularly from manager Rob Page.
While the 26-year-old is not a regular starter at international level at the moment, he is clearly thriving in this role of coming off the bench and attacking tired defenders.
Speaking earlier this week, Page hailed James for the level of confidence he is currently playing at, and believes it is as a result of his form at club level.
He said: “I thought we did well to get the job finished against Finland, particularly Dan James coming on, with bags of confidence that he’s got from doing well at club level. To give a performance like that is really good for us.”