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Leeds-born Thackray denies being selective about who he supports.
“My family are all Leeds mad. I came out of the womb and was handed a Leeds United shirt,” he told BBC Sport.
“My first memories of proper football were in the late 1990s and early 2000s, so my favorite players were the likes of Lucas Radebe, Alan Smith, Lee Bowyer and Mark Viduka. The David O’Leary era was the time for me when I joined the team and we played the best football of our lives .
“I got to us.” AC Milan at Elland Road and as such, a great introduction to football. Let’s say a little later this happened.
“People describe what happened next as Leeds in the doldrums but we still had some players who stood out, and most of them were probably those who came through our academy.
“My heroes over those years have been people like Sam Byram and Jonny Howson – Howson’s parents live around the corner from me and it’s always quite amazing to see him in the supermarket and things like that.
“It’s a shame that we can’t seem to keep our domestic talent, most recently with Archie Gray going to Tottenham. It’s another reason we need to get back into the Premier League.”
Leeds fell short of promotion last year when they lost to Southampton in the play-off final, but are currently top of the Championship table.
So will they be on the top flight next season?
“We have to be real,” added Thackray. “He felt he wanted to do or die because if we didn’t go up this season, the club would collapse and we could face another 20 years out of the Premier League.
“I think we’ll do it, although I’m not sure if we’ll keep the top spot because Sheffield United look really strong.
“The second consummation, even if it is thin. For us, climbing is all that really is.”
Chris Sutton and Emma-Jean Thackray were speaking to BBC Sport’s Chris Bevan.
