Leeds United manager Daniel Farke and his players are under pressure after they dropped five points in their last two league games. The Whites seemed poised to earn automatic promotion on a canter but with ten games left in the season, the race has come alive with Sheffield United and Burnley breathing down their necks. Two lacklustre performances have led to criticism of some of his players. Leeds have come under fire for missing some golden opportunities in the 1-0 defeat at Portsmouth on Sunday. Ethan Ampadu’s presence in midfield has been sorely missed but one of the star men in the Whites team has been attracting criticism for a while and it has reached its nadir following the defeat at Fratton Park.
Farke and his men have been left to answer questions about their performance following their 1-0 loss at Portsmouth, which has set the cat amongst the pigeons in the automatic promotion race.
Sheffield United are level on points with Leeds United but more importantly, Burnley are now just two points off the Whites, when the gap was seven points even a fortnight back.
The Leeds manager is now under pressure to bag six points from their next two league games and go into the international break next week still leading the Championship table.
However, Farke has some things to sort out and the supporters are now wondering why the Leeds manager has continued to persist with Ilia Gruev despite seemingly poor performances.
The Hungarian midfielder has come under pressure to perform since Ampadu’s injury and he has failed to provide the same level of calmness to the team from midfield.
Ilia Gruev sacrificed his body for the team – Leeds United manager
Gruev has been attracting scorn from Leeds fans for being far too defensive with his passing but Farke insisted that he was the best midfielder on the pitch at Fratton Park on Sunday.
He insisted that the Hungarian has been one of the best players for Leeds since joining the team and his knee injury earlier in the season was down to his willingness to put his body on the line for the team.
The Leeds boss pointed out that since Gruev got into the team, the Whites’ away form improved drastically, when earlier everyone was moaning about their performances on the road.
He conceded that the midfielder could be struggling for some rhythm at this stage, but he is not ready to criticise a player who has been so good for the Whites since arriving at the club, and feels no reason to be over critical of his charges.
“Gruev, since he came into our line-up, I would say until his big injury was our most consistent player. Then he sacrificed his body and he was out”, Farke said in a press conference.
“We brought him back – Burnley away clean sheet, Coventry away clean sheet and Watford away clean sheet.
“Right now his rhythm is out a bit. I don’t like to complain about performances of players who have done so well for us. I think he was our best midfielder on the pitch yesterday. It is important not to be overly critical and to be ready to defend the pitch again.”
Farke supporting his players at the business end of the season is the right thing to do
With ten games left in the season, Farke needs to squeeze out every ounce of football from his players to ensure Leeds get promoted to the Premier League.
Ampadu’s injury has come at the wrong time and the Leeds boss does not have the same level of flexibility to change his midfield around like earlier in the season.
Gruev is going to be an important player in the coming weeks and months if Leeds have to earn automatic promotion to the top flight and Farke cannot alienate him.
Can you name the season these 10 Leeds United shirts are from?
In fact, the Leeds boss is unlikely to have a go at any of his players in the next couple of months as he needs them focused and on the right track for the next ten games.
While fans might enjoy their manager breathing fire in front of journalists, Farke is aware that he cannot afford to further damage the confidence of his players following the last two results.
Confidence could be a brittle thing and for a squad that is carrying last season’s scars, it could be even more fallible and the Leeds manager’s job is to ensure that the mood remains upbeat around the dressing room for the rest of the season.
