Comment: Leeds United could do worse than follow Middlesbrough's patience in Aitor Karanka

Let’s break that down. What does sneaking into the play-offs actually entail?

It means a club is aiming to finish sixth in the division if they have a spot of luck and everything goes well.

Realistically, that means mid-table is the aim and accepted. Couch it in other terms though and you can sell the fans on the idea that the season ahead could be a successful one.

At Leeds, whose play-off push arguably ended with last week’s losses to Ipswich Town and Sheffield Wednesday, the phrase thrown around by Uwe Rosler before the season began was “top 10”.

That’s the same as hoping to sneak into the play-offs, just slightly less specific and with a higher margin for error.

One of the key problems at Leeds over the last few years is that at no point has anyone actually thought about how the club can win the Championship.

Forget finishing sixth, forget finishing third.

No one has ever said the aim is to win the league.

Admittedly no manager or head coach that has been through the door would say as much, given the paucity of options that many of them have had with which to work. It would have created an unfortunate rod for their own backs.

The reality is that Leeds are currently miles away from being able to even suggest finishing top of the second tier is a possibility.

There are so many things lacking at the club that it would require a revolution over the next six months for the man in the dugout to look at the situation and genuinely think he could be lifting the storied Football League championship at the end of the campaign.

It is hard not to compare Leeds to Middlesbrough, who look likely to return to the Premier League for the first time since the 2008-09 season.

Middlesbrough initially benefited from the parachute payments afforded every team dropping down to the second tier, but appear closer to promotion now than when they did receive those sums of money.

This is the result of Aitor Karanka being given the time, space and backing to put together a side.

Karanka has had four transfer windows in which to work, each time making a few additions rather than entirely overhauling his squad. This has allowed him to build a team in his own image without upsetting the applecart at any point.

In contrast, Leeds have had a different head coach in each of the last four transfer windows.

None of Steve Evans, pictured, Rosler, Neil Redfearn or Dave Hockaday will have assumed they had more than one period in which to bring in players they thought matched their style.

You would have to go back to January 2012 for the last time Leeds had a manager for more than two transfer windows in a row – Simon Grayson – and he was sacked the day after the winter window shut.

Brian McDermott always used to preach the need for stability at Elland Road and it is easy to see why. He might have been pitching for his continued survival in the hot-seat, but he knew better than most how having to work with a previous manager’s squad caused difficulties.

Many of Neil Warnock’s signings had peaked by the time McDermott took control from him.

Owner Massimo Cellino was in charge of a lot of the transfer business in his first season, with many of his buys unrated by coaches. He has clearly allowed both Rosler and Evans more influence over the last six months. That creates a situation by which a gap of three months can see a player go from being in favour to being unrated. Jordan Botaka is the current example.

Earlier this week Evans said: “The kid’s working hard but working hard isn’t enough on its own. I can’t fault his endeavour and I can’t fault his desire. I know this chance means so much to him. But on top of all that there has to be end-product and he has to deliver performances.”

Leeds are clearly trying to replace him this window, having already brought in Mustapha Carayol. According to reports on Friday, they are also eyeing a move for Everton’s Aiden McGeady, which would keep Botaka down the pecking order.

This was not the situation under Rosler, who felt comfortable starting Botaka on the visit to Middlesbrough.

Beyond the constant squad overhauling, Leeds lack another major aspect of a Premier League side – they have no scouts.

It explains why ‘names’ tend to get thrown up at the club rather than unknowns, and why Evans has gone back to players with whom he previously worked, like Carayol. There will be no Riyad Mahrez at United any time soon.

The chatter surrounding a play-off push seems to have ended. What Leeds need to do is spend time figuring out how they can go from mid-table to first. Not necessarily next year, but soon.