Daniel Farke insists Leeds United will not be swayed by ‘one unlucky result’ — Yorkshire Post 8/11/24

By Stuart Rayner

Leeds United will not abandon their principles but nor are they one-trick ponies, insisted manager Daniel Farke after Wednesday's defeat at Millwall.

A 1-0 reverse in south London, ending Leeds' eight-match unbeaten run, led to inevitable questions about Farke's approach and the popular criticism of whether he waited too long to make substitutions, making the first of three in the 72nd minute.

But after the game and in the build-up to Saturday's Championship visit of Queens Park Rangers, Farke struck a very positive tone about the performance at the New Den, arguing only more clinical finishing was required.

But just because he is not prepared to compromise on his principles, does not mean he is unwilling to tinker with the details.

"You can't be like a flag in the wind," he argued, turning to one of his favourite phrases. "You have to stick to what you believe in.

"Just because you don't win a game you can't say we'll play proper 4-4-2 and put the ball up front and go for second balls. That's not us, not the principal and the habits we work on.

"You work all season to develop your game and just because there’s one unlucky result you don't change everything.

"I was pleased how dominant we were.

"I want to see another team go to Millwall in red-hot form and just play in their half, we were unpressable, we dominated the game.

"They didn't have many counter-attacks, set pieces or crosses. It was a really good game, we simply didn't score.

"I want us to show a reaction in these terms, to show more of a cutting edge (against QPR) but not to change anything. These questions are always the same if you don't win the game – you should have substituted earlier or differently.

"(People might say) it was wrong to substitute Joe Rothwell because there was perhaps not that much structure in the game or perhaps in the last minutes we brought all our strikers in to play more or less just with strikers.

"If you don't score you could wish we had played further on in this set-up. There are no questions if you win the game. If you draw or lose you can always argue in a different way and you have to accept this.

"You have to take the decision in the heat of the moment but we will never try to change something.

"We have different plans, that's important, to be flexible in our set-up.

"This is why we changed the base formation after 70 and 80 minutes because we don't want to be stubborn. We want to win football games, we're not just there to fulfil our principles, we're there to win games and that's the only thing I'm addicted to and rely on.

"We have different plans, but not being a different side. This is not beneficial."

He did reveal, however, that he has spoken to his players about showing more composure in front of goal after turning 76 per cent possession into just four shots on target. Millwall had three, and scored through Japhet Tanganga.

"In general on Wednesday our build-up third, our midfield play was nearly perfect," argued Farke. "We pressed them high and when we lost the ball we were angry and won the ball back by counter-pressing, we kept them away from our goal because if you allow Millwall cross after cross and set piece after set piece you will struggle but in general we dominated the game, playing just in their half.

"But it's football. It's not always a fair outcome, you have to grab a well-deserved reward.

"There are two things we can criticise a bit. Each half we had to defend one corner and one wide free-kick but in this one first-half situation we didn't drop for the second phase and they were able to convert their only chance. Credit it to them for their efficiency.

"And in the final third we weren't that clinical.

"We were a bit careless at times with the final pass or our decision-making, our concentration.

"In many, many ways we had a really good game but when it came down to making it count in and around the box with the final pass, the final third, we could have been a bit more on it, concentrated and focused.

"This is what we spoke about.

"It's always important to be even more concentrated and focused when you are in a finishing position on playing this final pass tidily and being there on the first balls when it is delivered and concentrated. This was missing.

"Of course we want to be dominant and well structured like we were on Wednesday but we don't want to return without scoring a goal. We always play to score goals and this was a bit lacking."

The extent of any niggles picked up at Millwall will still be revealing themselves at this early stage, but Farke has reported no fresh injuries from the game.