Derby County manager wrong over what he’s said about Daniel Farke at Leeds
Paul Warne was wide of the mark regarding comments made about Leeds United boss Daniel Farke ahead of this weekend’s Championship clash.
The Derby boss was responding to a question at Thursday’s (5 December) press conference about Farke being under pressure at Elland Road.
Warne, in quotes transcribed by Derbyshire Live [4 December], replied that he “couldn’t believe” what he was hearing.
Where are Leeds United in the Championship?
While on the face of it it may seem strange a manager of a club sitting third in the Championship with 18 matches played is under even a small amount of pressure, some context is needed.
In many ways, last season was supposed to be promotion-or-bust for Leeds. To an extent, that proved the case as a number of key players moved on to help balance the books.
However, even accounting for the losses of Georginio Rutter, Archie Gray, Glen Kamara and others, Leeds still possess the strongest squad in the division.
That is not to say Sheffield United and Burnley do not also have very good rosters – they are the top two, after all – but anything less than top two for Leeds is a failure.
That explains to some extent why Farke is under pressure – only among a section of the fanbase, granted – on the back of a poor 1-0 loss at Blackburn Rovers last time out.
Leeds United cannot slip-up against Derby County
There will be many more defeats between now and the end of the season, but Leeds quite simply cannot afford to be outside of the top two for too long.
It is not too dissimilar to what happened in the second half of last season when Leeds took control at the top, only to then fade. Ultimately, they left themselves with too much to do.
Supporters are aware of that and that is why there is pressure on Farke. The fanbase know it only takes two losses in a row and all of a sudden it is a case of playing catch-up.
Warne perhaps does not truly understand the expectations at Leeds this season – or any season, for that matter – but he will surely be aware when walking out at Elland Road on Saturday (7 December).
In other Leeds United news, a regular first-team player may only have a month to save his career at Elland Road.
For more Leeds news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.