Farke told one thing he needs to avoid Leeds sack as memories of Jesse Marsch reprieve come flooding back | OneFootball

Daniel Farke has been told the one objective he must achieve in the next four games to prevent the Leeds board from sacking him, amid claims a 12-time trophy-winning manager is waiting in the wings to take his place.

The Whites are in a tricky spot right now, sitting 16th in the table and just a point clear of the Premier League relegation zone after four losses in their last five games. And with a tricky run of matches now looming large for Leeds United, the situation threatens to get worse before it gets any better for Farke.

In-form Aston Villa are the next visitors to Elland Road on Sunday, before the Whites travel to the Etihad to take on Manchester City, ahead of successive home games against Chelsea and Liverpool.

And while we were first to deliver the news that the Leeds board remains fully behind Farke for now – a claim since backed up by the likes of Sky Sports, Graham Smyth of the YEP and BBC Radio Leeds’ Adam Pope – Farke knows he needs to get some points on the board to keep the wolves from his door.

To that end, pundit Jeff Stelling believes Farke needs to do one major thing to prevent the axe from falling – and the situation will be all too similar to the situation the West Yorkshire side found themselves in with Jesse Marsch back in the autumn of 2022.

Speaking to talkSPORT on November 17, Stelling said: “If you look at their upcoming games, Villa at home, Man City away, Chelsea at home, Liverpool at home, it’s an incredibly tough run of games. And I think Daniel Farke cannot afford to come out of those games empty-handed.

“He certainly needs a ‘W’ next to one of those games, that is for sure.”

Stelling’s words of caution, though, will certainly feel similar to Leeds fans and a similar dilemma the club faced with the much-maligned American coach Marsch almost three years prior.

Finding himself in a similar fix at the wrong end of the table, the pressure was on Marsch to deliver. And he duly did so, picking up a shock 2-1 win over Liverpool at Anfield, which effectively spared him from the sack at the time.

Marsch was ultimately shown the door on Monday, 6 February, after a 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest – but by then Leeds were already on the path to relegation, and the timing of his dismissal left the club in a hole for which they couldn’t really recover.

Next Leeds boss? Multiple-trophy-winning manager touted as Farke successor

When and if Leeds decide to axe Farke remains to be seen, though a look through the history of Premier League managerial sackings shows that both November and December are the two months when most sackings are decided upon.

In light of all that, a report on Monday touted Brendan Rodgers as the most likely successor in the Leeds dugout.

The 52-year-old recently left Celtic after a falling out with the board, and after his second stint at the helm didn’t quite live up to the same expectations.

As a result, the man who won successive trebles in his first two seasons at the club, as well as numerous other trophies, including FA Cup glory with Leicester, has now been strongly linked with Leeds, per one journalist.

And Graeme Bailey revealed: “Leeds aren’t ready to pull the plug. From what I’m hearing, they’re now not where they’d hope to be, but they’re okay with where they are at the moment.

“It wasn’t a great performance at Forest, and the club are aware of that, but they’re not panicking. Of course, it piles the pressure on when you have a manager like Brendan Rodgers available. But nothing has changed, and nothing is imminent.”

Despite that, we believe Farke still has four reasons to be optimistic that he can keep the Leeds job.

Leeds latest: Ivan Toney hopes over; Troy Parrott competition

If Leeds are to survive this season, they will need to become more prolific in front of goal after a damning statistic showed they were guilty of missing the most big chances in the Premier League this season.

And with sources revealing Leeds are open to signing a new striker in the January window, the club has been linked with a number of potential options going forwards.

However, the Whites can be discounted from the race to sign Ivan Toney in January for three major reasons, sources have explained, while the prospects of the England striker returning to the Premier League amid links to four other sides, including Tottenham and Everton, can also be revealed.

One man they could look into a deal for is Troy Parrott, who came onto their radar during the summer.

The Irishman is now back in the news after his heroic hat-trick sunk Hungary and booked a World Cup play-off spot for his country, sparking fresh claims Leeds could rekindle their interest.

The latest update from our sources, though, has revealed that two of Europe’s biggest sides have also made checks on the AZ Alkmaar striker.