Daniel Farke told he WON’T be sacked by Leeds as two influential figures offer support after Chelsea win | OneFootball

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke can secure his future at the club with another positive result against Liverpool at Elland Road on Saturday after Gary Neville emphatically backed the manager in the wake of their impressive 3-1 win over Chelsea, while an important figure at Elland Road has also given the German a ringing endorsement.

Goals from Jaka Bijol, Ao Tanaka and Dominic Calvert-Lewin earned the Whites a vital victory on Wednesday as they climbed out of the relegation zone with a pressure-relieving performance and result against Chelsea. To say the win was timely for Leeds and Farke was an understatement; the manager had gone into the week knowing a fifth straight win – and seventh in eight games – could well have proved fatal to his reign.

However, after reverting to a 3-5-2 system, which very much appeared to suit his players, Leeds were able to hit Enzo Maresca’s side where it hurts, soaking up pressure for long periods, but hitting them quickly and effectively on the break. The Whites were certainly good value for the win.

Now, Gary Neville, speaking in the aftermath of that victory on Sky Sports, believes Farke is out of danger and claims Leeds can now see a way forward under him.

“Coming out of the bottom three is a big boost for Leeds, but the bigger boost is that they’ve won a big match,” Neville said. “They can see a way forward now. Leeds fans were wondering ‘Has the coach got a plan B?

“‘Is he going to be able to get us out of this mess?’ The pressure was building. But the way in which they played tonight will see them pick up more points. There’s a lot to like about what we saw.”

Influential Leeds figure reveals Daniel Farke support

As Neville hinted, the formation was certainly key for Leeds. Having switched effectively to a 3-5-2 for the second half against Man City on Saturday – a game they were unfortunate to lose 3-2 – Farke went with the system from the off.

All three centre-halves, Bijol, Pascal Struijk and Joe Rodon, looked comfortable in their roles, while Gabriel Gudmundsson and Jayden Bogle operated intelligently in their wing-back roles, supporting the attack when they needed to, but dropping back to make it a five-man defensive line when required.

In midfield, Ethan Ampadu was excellent, snapping into tackles throughout, while Anton Stach and Ao Tanaka battled hard and gave Leeds forward momentum when required.

Calvert-Lewin was also excellent leading the line, scoring a richly deserved goal in the process, while alongside him, Lukas Nmecha, put in a shift.

Going into the game, the general consensus at Leeds was that they had been unlucky not to have more points on the board. Saturday’s injury-time concession at the Etihad was one of four points the Whites had let slip through their grasp due to last-gasp goals.

And aside from a few anomalies, performance have, generally, been good.

However, it was the change of system that helped Leeds transform good performances into points; helped along too by a vociferous Elland Road crowd.

Discussing Farke’s future, influential Leeds figure, a club ambassador and long-serving former player and manager, Eddie Gray, believes that Farke had been doing well, backing him to stay, even before the win over Chelsea.

Speaking on talkSPORT, he told host and fellow Scot, Jim White: “I think the manager has done a good job for the football club. I think he’s done a terrific job.

“It’s a big jump from the Championship to the Premier League, the quality of players you’re playing against. It makes it more difficult for everybody.”

With Farke needing that win to keep the wolves from his door, he had gone into the game with a series of managers being touted for his job.

To that end, Gary O’Neil had been installed as the new favourite to succeed him and with Farke allegedly two games away from the sack.

Having been told that owners, 49ers Enterprises, were doing their due diligence on potential successors, we exclusively revealed a new name that has been recommended to 49ers Enterprises through their partnership with Red Bull.

The coach in question has worked, almost anonymously, in their stable for a good number of years, while also assisting Thomas Tuchel at Chelsea, PSG and Bayern Munich.

We’ve also been told that the Whites are also very much considering Brendan Rodgers, with the 52-year-old former Liverpool and Leicester boss ‘open to a conversation’ with Leeds.

The manager, for his part, has always maintained that his target for the season was an average of a point per game. With Wednesday night’s win, Leeds took themselves to 14 points from 14 games – and the focus at Leeds will now be on how to get the better of Arne Slot’s Liverpool on Saturday.