'No robots' — Leeds United manager Daniel Farke proud despite squad's lack of title winners after Stoke City win — YEP 26/12/24
By Joe Donnohue
Leeds United manager Daniel Farke applauded his side rising
to the challenge of going back to the summit of the Championship after
Sheffield United dropped points at home to Burnley.
Leeds' 8pm kick-off in the Potteries gave Farke's side the
chance to leapfrog both the Clarets and Christmas table-toppers Sheffield
United, if they could win on the road at Stoke City.
Despite a shaky opening couple of minutes, in which Illan
Meslier was called into action to save from Lewis Koumas, Leeds took the
Potters to task, leaving with all three points, both goals on the night scored
by Joel Piroe.
"Happy with the result, happy with the win," Farke
said at full-time. "Not that easy when you have to play the last game [of
the day] after a long wait, especially on the road. It's sometimes tricky.
"You always speak about focus on yourself, but the
players are no robots, of course they hear about the other results, you drop
out of the top two, a little but under pressure, it's not easy to deliver a
good performance."
The Leeds manager was particularly pleased with the
resilience his team showed before a ball had been kicked, refusing to buckle
under the expectation that they would return to the top of the table.
Burnley's 2-0 win at Bramall Lane, coupled with Sunderland's
point against Blackburn Rovers - which could have been all three if not for a
late equaliser - meant Leeds began their game in Stoke outside the top two.
"They are young human beings and some of them playing
for the first time under this pressure. We don't have too many title winners in
our team. We have a few from the past under Marcelo [Bielsa] but all others
have, if I'm really honest, a few more relegations than titles under the belt.
And for that it's sometimes tricky.
"Over the day, because some other teams win some
points, you drop without doing a mistake, out of the top two. And of course
there is a bit more pressure to deliver," Farke added.
Dutch striker Piroe hit a brace at the bet365 Stadium, his
first goals on the road since early October against Sunderland, taking his
tally to nine for the season.
"There's no other player on this level who has got more
goals in the last three-and-a-half years," Farke said, defending the
forward who has previously come in for criticism.