Leeds United manager Daniel Farke remains undeterred by the club’s disappointing play-off history despite their faint hopes of automatic promotion being dashed on the Sky Bet Championship’s final day.
The team suffered a 2-1 defeat to Southampton at Elland Road, which ultimately didn’t matter as Ipswich secured second place with a home win against Huddersfield.
Joel Piroe’s equaliser had cancelled out Adam Armstrong’s opener, but Will Smallbone’s goal before halftime ensured Southampton left Leeds in third, one spot above them. Despite Leeds’ history of five unsuccessful play-off campaigns, Farke isn’t fazed, maintaining his sense of humour.
“You know how my record is in the play-offs? I never lost a game – because I’ve never played in the play-offs by the way,” he quipped. “It doesn’t matter. Leeds have lost in the play-offs before, but it was a completely different group, I was not in charge, so it doesn’t matter.”
“Obviously we are here to change it. That’s the reason why I’m here.”
Leeds struggled through a rough patch, losing four of their last six games, allowing Leicester and Ipswich to secure the top two spots. Despite a slow start to the season, Leeds surged back into contention with a 15-game unbeaten streak, narrowing the gap between themselves and the leaders.
“If you said we’d finish on 90 points in third position, it wouldn’t be the worst,” Farke noted. “Yes, the last couple of weeks it doesn’t feel like this in this moment.”
“But in two days we will feel excited. It doesn’t matter what happened before. It’s a completely different group, different people.”
“We want to achieve something special here and doing this perhaps by being there for the first time in history with a good play-off outcome, yes I would take it.”
Though Leeds stumbled with defeats to Coventry, Blackburn, QPR, and Southampton, Farke emphasized: “I don’t feel we’ve thrown it away.”
“Yes, it felt that with a better run-in it was possible, but to be honest, I think the reason why we are not in the top two is not the last four weeks, but the first two months.”
Southampton’s victory ended their three-game losing streak, setting them up for their play-off against West Brom. Leeds, meanwhile, will face Farke’s former club Norwich in the first leg.
Reflecting on the performance, Southampton manager Russell Martin said, “I really enjoyed lots of the performance. Some of the football we played was fantastic in the first half, maybe we could make more use of the openings we had.”
“There was a bit of tension in the players after a tough week last week. Losing three on the bounce is not easy.”
Q: What was Leeds United’s final position in the Championship this season?
A: Leeds United finished third in the Championship, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion.
Q: What is Leeds United’s play-off history?
A: Leeds United have had five unsuccessful play-off campaigns in the past.
Q: How does Daniel Farke feel about Leeds United’s play-off history?
A: Daniel Farke is undeterred by Leeds United’s disappointing play-off history and believes that the current squad can achieve something special.
Q: Who will Leeds United face in the play-off semi-finals?
A: Leeds United will face Norwich City in the semi-finals of the Championship play-offs.
Q: What was the reason for Leeds United’s third-place finish, according to Daniel Farke?
A: Daniel Farke attributes Leeds United’s third-place finish to their poor start to the season, rather than their recent run of form.
Q: How did Southampton perform in their match against Leeds United?
A: Southampton won the match 2-1, ending their three-game losing streak and securing a play-off spot against West Brom.
