Daniel Farke has claimed that he had to tell two Leeds United players to stop what they were doing on the training pitch this week at Thorp Arch, after the 4-0 defeat at QPR.
Leeds missed the chance to go four points clear of Ipswich and instead, The Tractor Boys have pegged Leeds back to go three ahead in second place ahead of the final weekend of the Championship season.
For The Whites, automatic promotion is now almost impossible with Leeds requiring Huddersfield Town to beat Ipswich on Saturday but The Terriers currently sit in 23rd place and are pretty much relegated.
It looks as if the play-offs are incoming for Daniel Farke’s side even if they beat Southampton at Elland Road. Set-pieces have been an issue for The Whites recently, both attacking and defending them.
Leeds conceded two goals from set-pieces in the 4-0 loss to QPR and Farke’s current first-choice centre-backs have not scored a single Championship goal between them unlike Liam Cooper and Pascal Struijk.
It is an issue that has not escaped Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu, who this week wanted to go out after training and work on their ability in the air from both boxes, but Farke says he had to say no to the duo:
Farke told Leeds duo to stop extra training this week
It is a problem that Leeds need to address if not in the next three games, but in the summer. Leeds are excellent in the final third but they need a bit of help from defenders and Farke commented on the duo.
“My centre halves, Ethan Ampadu and Joe Rodon, wanted to go for lots of finishing and attacking crosses and attacking corner kicks in order to score a bit more,” Farke told his press conference as per Leeds Live.
“I like this attitude, but I also had to stop them to make sure they’re not overloaded and they don’t lose their enjoyment of being on the pitch. I love this mentality, but I have to make sure it’s not too much.”
Farke admits he made a mistake in taking Sam Byram off
The two set-pieces goals against QPR came after Farke decided to take off 30-year-old Byram and even the Leeds manager admitted he made a mistake in bringing the defender off even if he had a yellow card.
Byram has got to start against Southampton on Saturday because of his ability in the air and that Leeds lack many quality options that are good at winning aerial duels, other than duo Rodon and Ampadu.
While Leeds are unlikely to finish second even with a win over Southampton but the game remains a crucial one because it could be a rehearsal for the play-off final at Wembley on May 26.