Noel Whelan thinks there was something about Liam Cooper's display in Leeds United's 3-0 win at Bristol City which went beyond his performance.
Cooper had extra pressure placed on his shoulders at Ashton Gate by head coach Thomas Christiansen's decision to drop Pontus Jansson to the bench.
The centre-back delivered by turning in a performance which oozed leadership qualities, with the Whites keeping a clean sheet as they ran riot at the other end against Lee Johnson's men.
Whelan was delighted to see Cooper take charge on the pitch, shouting at team-mates to get into position and managing the game.
And he feels Cooper walked out at Ashton Gate with a steely determination to put Leeds back on track.
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"You want leaders out there and he came out and that's exactly what he was", Whelan said on BBC Radio Leeds.
"Performance fantastic, but he's talking, he's managing the players and they followed suit.
"There was a lot of pressure on his shoulders, he wears the armband.
"He came out and delivered. It wasn't just the performance.
"There was something about him today that said we're not getting beat, I'm going to get this team back on track and he took the bull by the horns and he made it happen.
"And everyone followed suit."
It remains to be seen whether Christiansen will pick Cooper as part of a strong side away at Leicester City in the EFL Cup in midweek, or look to make a series of changes to keep his key men fresh.
