By Dan Carter

17th Sep, 2023 | 6:10pm

Daniel Farke fumes over fixture schedule ahead of Yorkshire derby against Hull

Daniel Farke has revealed his frustration ahead of the clash between Leeds United and Hull City after Liam Rosenior’s side were afforded extra time to recover.

While the Whites travelled to The Den on Sunday (17 September) for their clash with Millwall, Hull’s match against Coventry City was moved forward a day to Friday (15 September) by Sky Sports, meaning the Tigers had a much longer recovery time before their meeting on Wednesday 19 September.

As Farke and Leeds aim to get their season properly up and running following an indifferent start to the campaign, the German boss has been left irritated by the scheduling that has seemingly given his side a disadvantage against Hull.

Speaking about the schedule as quoted by Hull Live (17 September) he said: “It’s strange from the setup, our next opponent on Wednesday, Hull, plays already, Friday, a home game, then next home game on Wednesday. I spoke about not feeling sorry for ourselves and then for that I don’t complain about this.

“I’m sure, right now, the longer we will stay together and the more time we have also on the training pitch and we work together. It’s just about finding the right setup, the right balance, the right rhythm. And I’m confident this group will also win many points for us.”

Busy schedule

Leeds’ status as one of the biggest clubs in England’s second tier will mean that they fall victim to the dreaded Sky Sports fixture change more often than most Championship sides and while it isn’t ideal, Farke should have the depth to combat the quick turnaround.

Had the Whites been playing Saturday and then the following Tuesday, little would have been made of the quick turnaround between the two fixtures, but it is seemingly more to do with the extra time off that the Tigers have got ahead of the Yorkshire-based clash.

If Farke and his side have genuine ambitions of making an immediate return to the Premier League this season, games against the likes of Hull are likely to become must-wins, especially in the fight for the automatic promotion places. s

Hopefully, Leeds United will be able to get through the gap between the fixtures relatively unscathed and continue to find their feet under Farke in the coming weeks.

In other Leeds United news, the Whites have dodged a bullet by missing out on Jonjo Shelvey this summer