Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has been speaking to the media before the Championship game against Derby County at Elland Road on Saturday (12:30 GMT).
Here are some of the key points from Thursday’s news conference, and Farke’s thoughts:
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Sam Byram (hamstring) is out, while Isaac Schmidt (hernia) is back in training but not ready to play a full 90 minutes.
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Junior Firpo is a question mark so faces a late call after a knock in training.
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Club captain Ethan Ampadu is back in full training and Farke is already mulling over using the midfielder earlier than anticipated by mid-December.
Patrick Bamford came on ahead of Mateo Joseph at Blackburn Rovers. Does that reflect his fitness and general improvement in training?
Farke: “It’s the first time in a while he’s three to four weeks without injury. In training his confidence is coming back. It also depends on the game. It wasn’t a decision against Mateo, for example. Patrick with experience and smart movements in the box is a good solution when you need a goal. I’m quite grateful he’s in a good period where he’s training more and more. When you convince in training you have more chances to get more minutes – and you have to use minutes.”
Paul Warne gave his Derby team Monday off for a psychological recovery after their late defeat by Sheffield Wednesday. Do you do similar?
Farke: “Sometimes it depends on the gut feeling. Paul is pretty experienced. Sometimes you feel don’t talk too much, clear the head, instead of overloading them too much. But you can’t do this every week. I’m quite sure it’s the best solution for them if Paul thinks so. They are highly motivated to bounce back. They were unlucky and were on the front foot and quite easily could have won the game.”
Warne says he can’t believe Farke is perceived to be under pressure. He says no-one could do a better job.
Farke: “We’ve got a good relationship and obviously there is objective data that backs his words. Paul is experienced enough – it’s Leeds United and it’s always like such an emotional club. I don’t feel at all criticised or under pressure. We know what we’re doing. I knew when I signed the contract what an emotional club Leeds is – this club always polarises. Even during Marcelo [Bielsa’s] time there was criticism of his football or his approach. If you can’t handle the heat don’t go into the kitchen.”
You said it would be a quiet January transfer window. Does that mean in terms of numbers, and does it rule out spending considerable money on a key player like a number 10?
Farke: “In general, I’m long enough in this business that some strange things can happen. You can never rule it out. You have to react to the reality. It’s a while till the window opens and till then I won’t comment too much on speculation. We have eight games before 1 January. Potentially some injuries to key players and how is the situation. If you ask me right now I don’t expect a busy January.”
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