"Worst possible" - Daniel Farke reflects on key Leeds United blows after Watford draw | OneFootball

Leeds United boss Daniel Farke is happy with a point against Watford due to the setbacks he faced during the international break, speaking to the Irish News.

Having gone top of the Championship table before the international break, the Whites would have been keen to retain their place and they received a boost early on yesterday when Bristol City beat Leicester City.

However, Ipswich Town won their clash against Blackburn Rovers and this meant a win was needed for Leeds in the late kick-off if they wanted to return to the top of the tree.

The Hornets were 2-1 up for a decent chunk of the game, but Mateo Joseph's late strike earned the West Yorkshire side a point in the end.

It wasn't the three that the Whites had been after, but they have suffered some setbacks in recent times.

Not only did their Welsh players not qualify for Euro 2024, with their loss on penalties against Poland preventing them from securing a spot at the tournament, but Dan James will have been particularly badly affected considering it was his penalty miss that proved to be crucial in the end.

Injuries also hindered Farke's side, with Willy Gnonto, Ilia Gruev and Connor Roberts all missing from the matchday squad for yesterday's game.

Considering the blows stated above, Farke was happy to come away from Vicarage Road with a point.

He told the Irish News: "I will take this point all day long. I am really happy and proud of the boys. We played this game at the worst possible moment.

"Watford, they have a new manager and there is new belief, he knows the players inside out and they were unleashed and had a great start.

"We had the worst possible international break. For us three players came back injured and three Welsh players had the disappointment of not being allowed to go to the Euros.

"We had not one first team training session as a team. We had to play this game by just pressing a button and we were not at our best rhythm.

"Then to play such a second half, I’m pretty happy with the outcome. We found our rhythm and our confidence.

"If training didn’t matter we would just turn up for the games – it matters."

Leeds United should be in better shape after the Easter period

It may take some time for Leeds to adapt after losing Willy Gnonto for a few weeks.

Having two games in such a short period of time after some blows during the international break isn't ideal, but they have the ingredients to secure a win against Hull City on Monday.

However, they should be in even better shape after that, because they will have more time on the training ground to recover from the Wales heartbreak and adjust to not having players who are out injured.

They are still in a strong position, but the interval wasn't beneficial for them and Farke has had to deal with these issues.