Leeds United coach Javi Gracia trying to keep emotions inside as Premier League relegation battle reaches its stress point

But there will be so much more on the line when the Whites walk out at Molineux on Saturday.

Relegation will mean jobs lost.

One will be Javi Gracia's but with the greatest of respect, no tears need to be shed for him.

When you have coached Watford, as he has, you cannot fear the indignity of the sack. Top-level coaches are rewarded well enough that their bank balances can certainly cope.

But people who work at Elland Road on matchdays for far less money, people who love Leeds United far too much to contemplate working for another football club even if their personal circumstances allowed, will go too. It is the brutal nature of the Premier League.

It is no surprise, then, that anyone involved in the sharp end of the table feels the stress at this time of year.

It will be everywhere at the home of Wolverhampton Wanderers, another team fighting to keep their head above water.

The last seven days have been typical. Last Saturday a Bournemouth win out of the blue at home to a Liverpool side who ought to have been riding the crest of a 7-0 wave piled the pressure on Leeds.

A draw against Brighton and Hove Albion was a good response, but the way the Whites went about it frustrated some in the stands.

Then, when the players walked back into the dressing room they learnt Everton had beaten Brentford, dropping Leeds to one-from-bottom in the table.

At least Brighton and Brentford beat Crystal Palace and Southampton respectively on Wednesday but it only led to another twist – the Eagles sacking Patrick Vieira. It might mean a new manager bounce at Selhurst Park, or the sort of turmoil Leeds went through as they tried and tried to replace Jesse Marsch.

Spoiler alert: Saturday will bring more twists and turns, more tales of the unexpected. Even Sunday could. By the time the end of the season comes around, supporters' stomachs will have had the full roller-coaster treatment and then some.

Amidst it all, Gracia cuts a calm figure on the touchline compared to the raging bulls that were Marsch and Marcelo Bielsa. It is, he says, an important act.

"I don't relax," he laughs. "I live stressed!

"I feel the stress inside and I think it's the best thing I can do. The best way I can help my players is to try to give them confidence and the calm they need to play their best way.

"I won't help them if I stress or I'm shouting a lot. I don't think it's my way.

"I suffer inside a lot but I try to give what my players need. I think my players at this moment need confidence and support because they are showing me their quality and their commitment every day.

"I don't have enough time away from football (to relax). I live at the training ground, 12 hours here and the rest is having dinner and resting at the hotel. No time for other things.

"On Wednesday night I watched both Premier League games and went to sleep, nothing else.

"I speak with the family on the phone and that's all."

Nor is he one to get vexed if fans boo as they did when his players stood off Brighton's last week.

"I understand people were frustrated because we are as well – we only got a point," he says. "But the way we did it, I think the players deserve all the credit because they did really well.

"In some moments I was thinking, 'We need to press higher and we need to be more aggressive' but I know what happens when you press this team very high and you are not good at pressing man-to-man in the opposition half.

"After watching many games and studying and analysing the (Brighton) team a lot, we decided to do this and what for me is important is that the players followed the plan until the end. They were faithful (to it) to the end.

"That's why I believe in these players. They are going to do what we think is best for the team. That's really important in the next games.

"For the next game against another team we'll have a different plan. Maybe we can be more aggressive, maybe we can recover more balls in the opposition half. I'm not going to tell you the plan now, of course.

"I like to see my players pressing high and recovering balls in the opposite half but we need a balance. That balance is what we are working on every day."

Balance? In a Premier League relegation battle? The chance would be a fine thing.