Football League World
·8 November 2024
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·8 November 2024
The Leeds boss was happy to see his players upset in midweek.
Daniel Farke was not sad to see his players upset by their loss to Millwall in midweek.
The Den has been a graveyard for top teams in the last week. The Lions have taken the scalps of two promotion hopefuls - Burnley and Leeds - in their last two games, both by way of 1-0 wins.
They limited the Whites' attempts on goal, with their best chance of the game falling to an offside Joel Piroe, who, frustratingly for United fans, finished well before the flag went up.
Farke didn't bite his tongue when speaking to the media after the match. He revealed that for Millwall's goal, scored by Japhet Tanganga, two of his players didn't do their jobs for the second ball, which allowed the former Tottenham Hotspur defender to meet Jake Cooper's nodded touch on the full and volley it past Illan Meslier in goal.
It was Leeds' first loss since their home defeat against Burnley on 14th September. The German manager has revealed that some of his players, the younger ones in particular, were visibly sad when stewing over their performances in The Den's away dressing room. He didn't mind seeing that reaction.
Farke said that he wants to see the players use the hurt that they felt after the full-time whistle on Wednesday evening to fuel them going forward, with the aim of not feeling that way again being the driving motivator.
"I want them also to be disappointed," claimed the United boss in his pre-Queens Park Rangers press conference, via Leeds Live. "This is what I like. It was, with all respect, the 14th gameday in the Championship. It's more or less just another day in the office at the moment, but I still saw a tear in the eyes of my players, not of all of them, but especially the younger guys.
"This is what I like. I see their desire, see how emotional they were and no complaints about this. I want for them that the world goes down tonight and that they feel also the pain because, next time, it will lead to a situation when there's another ball, a set-piece on the second post.
"I guarantee you these players will drop right now to be there for the second ball.
"I'm not annoyed they are disappointed," continued Farke. "I'm also disappointed, but right now [it] also makes no sense if I'm here in the press conference, over-emotional and in tears and try to analyse in an objective way what went wrong.
"There's always something that went wrong when you lose a game. And [it] also [makes no sense] to speak about what we have to do, but there is no major thing we have to change or whatever.
"It’s more like: more effectiveness in the final third and to play without a mistake, this is what you have to do."
The current United squad is a bit different to the one that was predominantly used last season. There's no Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville, Georginio Rutter or Glen Kamara, but the majority of the others, injuries withstanding, are still at Elland Road.
They should have no excuses for a lack of drive this season, because last season should have been the biggest motivator of all. To be so good for most of the season just to let it slip away in the final weeks, and then get to the play-off final and lose in pretty drab fashion. That experience should be able to provide them with all the motivation they need.
Losing to Millwall didn't put Leeds too out of joint. They are still in the top three and not too far off league-leaders Sunderland.
If that unexpected loss is what they need to make sure they are at it every week, then so be it, but it shouldn't have been given what they went through in the previous campaign.
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