Norwich City v Leeds United: Reset Whites get back to basics as promotion chase enters a new phase

Their job at Carrow Road on Sunday will be the same as for the previous 52 matches this season: to score more goals than the other lot.

But the play-offs are a strange beast where psychology can play such a big part.

Received wisdom has it that you want arrive late to the party, with momentum – like Doncaster Rovers did in the League Two edition. Another popular theory is that the more time a team has had to get their heads around being in the play-offs, as Leeds’ opponents, sixth-placed Norwich City have, the better.

What you do not want to do is drop down into them on the last day having been locked in an automatic promotion race. Like Leeds.

But the other thing about the play-offs is that whatever theory you swear by someone, somewhere, will throw it out of the window. Leeds, who have never won a play-off final, plan to do that this year.

For them, this week has been a much-needed reset, as well as a chance to get back to basics on the Thorp Arch training pitches.

For months it has been about not just doing their job, but keeping an eye on how Leicester City and Ipswich Town were getting on with theirs. Now both of them are booked into next season's Premier League, it is down to a straight fight with Norwich – at Carrow Road at noon on Sunday, then Elland Road on Thursday – and hopefully another against Southampton or West Bromwich Albion at Wembley on May 26.

It is not much of a change but when you have won just two of your last eight games and lost the last two, any tweak can be beneficial.

"In the last games and more or less over 46 (league) gamedays we were in the chasing role and nothing is in your own hands," reflects Daniel Farke, embarking on his first play-offs having always bypassed them to go up as champions when manager of the Canaries.

"On the last gameday we knew Ipswich had a home game against an already-relegated side (Huddersfield Town, who Leeds needed to win to have any chance of going up in second) and it wasn't that likely it would bring us over the line.

"Right now it's a new competition and we have everything in your own hands.

"When you are there in a semi-final with two legs it's slightly different. After the first game it's not like you win one or three points, it's just half-time. It's not like you win or lose (the tie) in the first game.

"For the right to play at Wembley you have to win and lose it over two legs so the approach is that you adapt a bit to it.

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"You are aware of this. You can't compare this to a normal league game but the way we approach the game and want to play will be quite similar because everywhere we go it is always to get the best possible result and hopefully a win. This will not change in the next two games."

Not that this week has been all in the mind.

You never expect a manager to show his hand much about what he has been working on in training, least of all before a game of this magnitude, but in his pre-match press conference, Farke was happy to divulge he had been working on sharpening up the way his attacking players defend from the front after Leeds developed an uncharacteristic leakiness in the final weeks.

"It was important we had one or two days more this week to prepare, to concentrate even a bit more on sharpening up on a few details," he admitted. “When you play Tuesday-Friday or Monday-Thursday it's not really possible to work on several topics so it was good and beneficial. We had a bit more time on the training pitch to work on it.

"(There's been) no psychological games, just hard work on the training pitch. You just have to make sure you have good training sessions and success on the training pitch by bringing them into good positions.

"Sometimes when everything is not great you concentrate on the easy things, the basics things, rather than trying to transform the game with a magical touch.

"(But) the players have my backing and you won't expect them to do something strange or totally different to what we've done before. We will be ourselves and this is how we want to be successful."

Given this is Farke v Norwich, the narrative is already written – the German not only against his old club but also a dugout compatriot in David Wagner. Leeds manager is not having it.

"It's not about me or playing chess with the opponents' manager, it's just about the players," he insists.

"Especially in such an important game in the crunch time period it's always the players who are decisive.

"The manager is there to support them, to help them, to make sure we are there with the best possible training week. That's what we are trying to do, to have the right exercises to make sure the spirit is there in the perfect way.

"But this game won't be won or lost by great or not great decisions by a manager, it's totally up to the players.

"I totally trust my players.”

The work has been done. Now it boils down to who is strong enough between the ears as well as good enough in the boots to carry it out the best.