Liam Cooper reacts to Leeds United supporter footage with message ahead of Norwich City clash | OneFootball

Leeds United club captain Liam Cooper urged the fans to back the players ‘from the first to the last minute’ when they welcome Norwich City to Elland Road on Thursday night.

Leeds United’s promotion chances

After a terrible end to the season, which allowed Ipswich Town to pip the Whites to second place in the table, all attention turned to the play-offs for Daniel Farke’s side.

And, they played out a rather dull 0-0 draw with the Canaries at Carrow Road on Sunday, with neither side offering much of an attacking threat in what was a cagey affair.

Whilst the performance in the final third may be a concern, the reality is that Leeds didn’t look troubled too much themselves, with a draw a fair result as defences came out on top.

So, all eyes are on the second leg, and with the Yorkshire side now set to be backed by a packed out Elland Road for the decider, they will certainly start as favourites to book a place at Wembley, not to mention the fact they finished 17 points above David Wagner’s side in the table.

Liam Cooper sends Leeds United rallying cry

Despite having home advantage, you can be sure that complacency won’t creep in for Leeds, as their history in the play-offs makes for grim reading - including when they have had the second leg at home.

In 2009, the Whites, then in League One, couldn’t overturn a 1-0 defeat at Millwall in the first leg, as they were dumped out. Then, more recently, under Marcelo Bielsa, they memorably lost at home to Derby County, even after winning at Pride Park.

Norwich will no doubt be playing on that, and they will be hoping that they can make the crowd anxious on the night.

But, taking to social media, Cooper urged all connected with Leeds to stick together, as he reacted to the away end at Carrow Road showing support to the players at full-time, by calling for more of the same on Thursday.

“This x100 Thursday please. From the first to the last minute.”

Leeds United fans can have a big role to play

The atmosphere at Elland Road is sure to be electric from the start, but, as Cooper says, they need to maintain that throughout.

In fairness to the fans, they’re sure to do that, and they will rightly point out that they will react to what they see on the pitch. Simply put, if the players show passion, intensity and go after Norwich, they will provide more vocal backing to help the side over the line.

As outlined above, the visitors will try and make it a nervy night, and Leeds fans know very well how the drama of the play-offs means anything can happen, so they do need to show patience if things don’t go to plan initially.

Ultimately though, with the tie level, there’s no doubt whatsoever that Leeds will be delighted to have the second leg at Elland Road, and it’s now on Farke and the players to make sure they benefit from the advantage of the home support by putting in a good performance.