'Iceberg' - What Leeds United need to stop sinking amid confusing Whites decision: David Prutton

Leeds are definitely being helped by the form of the teams in and around them but you can take Nottingham Forest out from that because that was a huge win for them against Brighton on Wednesday. But it was all doom and gloom for them before that actual win.

You would probably say that West Ham are just about out of it now with that game in hand. Southampton are very much cut adrift at the bottom and Thursday's defeat to Bournemouth was a killer blow for them. They have been poor for a very long time

But Leeds, Forest, Leicester and Everton are big, big names of clubs who are all very much stuck in there with perhaps two of those staying up and two going down. I think Leeds can take great heart from Everton's 4-1 defeat at home to Newcastle United on Thursday night.

But with the games coming up, part of it is a Hail Mary for Leeds and the rest of it - or the baulk of it - is just sheer bloody mindedness and hard work. Everton are in huge trouble - it's toxic there at the moment - and the fact that Leicester face Everton on Monday night is another huge game for Leeds to keep an eye on. Leicester have made a change with Dean Smith coming in and there are signs of life in that.

But Leeds have got a brutal run-in. We saw Man City turn the screw against Arsenal and they will have their foot to the floor between now and the end of the season. They can't slip up and that is an absolute iceberg of a fixture. City have got the ability to destroy teams and that's an ominous one Newcastle can't slip up with what's riding on them getting in the Champions League. With Spurs, God knows what you are going to get with them and then Sunday's hosts Bournemouth have been resurgent.

With a trip to West Ham also on the agenda, if Leeds stay up by doing their own work then it will be extremely hard fought. But they also need a massive slice of luck from other games and in games to make sure that they get above the dotted line come the end of the season.

Leeds had chances to win Tuesday night's 1-1 draw against Leicester at Elland Road. They got their noses in front but they can't protect a lead and there are lots of ingredients there that we should be very concerned about.

The fans were obviously unhappy that Willy Gnonto didn't even come off the bench. Leeds are crying out for somebody like Willy Gnonto and it's really hard to try and put yourself in the shoes of the manager to mitigate for him not being used when you know what he has done and I think that's why Leeds fans are possibly scratching their heads.

Sometimes there is a mystique about a manager that has been in football, that has won things and been successful where you can say there is obviously some unknown thing that us mere mortals, me included, don't know from being inside the game as a manager.

But it's really hard with this one because you look at it and Leeds clearly need something and they can't draw their way to safety. That will catch up on them. You can't contain the opposition to safety. They need to win games because of the teams around them and who the teams around them are playing and Willy is there to be able to provide a spark. I would understand it if he was a bit of an indulgent player who didn't work his socks off.

But the kid that I have seen gets through some serious mileage. He is up and down and he contributes across the board so I find it tough to understand. I have got the utmost respect for Javi Gracia and what he is trying to achieve with Leeds, what he has done before and the positions that he has found himself in before as a coach but this is a tough one to work out.

With Javi, you either listen to the fans and use it or don't and you make your own choice and you live and die by that choice and the results. His future is decided by results. Obviously the responsibility is on the players, absolutely, and we are seeing that in recent weeks with Tottenham. Regardless of who is in charge there, they can still be a complete shower.

But it's the manager who goes when it goes wrong. It's his future and the way that he is viewed, what his next job will be and what it looks like on his CV. Yes, there have been changes and a lot has gone under the bridge before Javi took over at Leeds. He took over in a perilous position.

But he will still be the manager that takes them down if they get relegated so it's his choice and his professional responsibility but a manager doesn't get into football not knowing that failure and relegation normally leads to you being pushed out of the door.

It's getting to must win territory now for Leeds and Gary O'Neil has done fantastically well at Bournemouth with a team that is built in the Championship with smatterings of Premier League experience. There were question marks about him as a callow manager and head coach but he got the chance, they started well and then dropped off but they have energised at the right time and he is getting tunes out of players that have always been very talented such as Marcus Tavernier, Philip Billing, Dominic Solanke, Ryan Christie, Joe Rothwell, Jefferson Lerma.

There are so many players in that team that I have seen over the course of the last few seasons in the Football League and working their way to the Premier League so all credit to him. It might be a quaint little ground but it's a tough place to go to, especially when Bournemouth are playing like they are.

Leeds are going to come up against teams that have so much motivation and fight at both ends of the table in their final five games. It will be the strictest and sorest of tests and it will be one hell of an achievement if they come through it.