Every word Leeds United manager Daniel Farke said on Djed Spence loan decision and Peterborough FA Cup preview


The Whites' FA Cup Third Round tie with Peterborough United will take on secondary importance in today's press conference as Daniel Farke sits down with the media to discuss the club's first major move of the January transfer window.
Djed Spence's return to Spurs, at the behest of Leeds, came as a surprise on Thursday evening, leading to mounting speculation as to the reason behind United's decision. Farke is expected to provide clarification on the termination of Spence's loan from 1:30pm this afternoon.
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Hide AdMeanwhile, the Leeds boss is also expected to offer an injury update on the likes of Sam Byram [hamstring], Jamie Shackleton [glute] and Pascal Struijk [adductor] ahead of Sunday's cup meet with Darren Ferguson's Posh.
Updates from Farke's press call at Thorp Arch will filter arrive here.
Daniel Farke press conference LIVE
Farke on away form
I am not a big believer in separating too much in home and away game, our approach is always the same. It’s the same rules, there are two rectangles at either end, the pitch is the same size, it is 11 against 11, mostly at least, Preston was not the case! For that, I don’t want to differ too much in home and away games and I don’t want to speak too much about it. When I judge also some of our away games we have won in a brilliant way. We won away at Leicester, at Ipswich, at Blackburn, Millwall, difficult places to go and we delivered it. We are capable to do this. Sometimes I get the feeling because we still have many young players in our starting XI in crucial positions, sometimes in away games when there is a tendency the referee is 50/50 decisions against you, because the stadium is more excited, sometimes we pay the price for our youth and naivety in these games. When not everything works straightaway in our favour, then to show steel, experience that a really mature group is doing, that’s all we are lacking a little bit. That consistency we are working on, to develop our younger players to show maturity and steel in this position, this cup game is another chance because we accept resistance and odds against us. You also don’t know what the idea of the referee is, if he denies us two clear penalties or perhaps gives us a red card - No, he won’t give a red card, we won’t concede one in this game! - but perhaps poor decisions against us, if we then show resilience and mental strength not to be too down and lose our focus, it’s what happens in a few of the last away games, to speak about this and develop our young players, this is our task, my task to work on it, and another chance to show that we have learnt in this difficult away game and we want to show this!
Farke on being careful in the transfer market
Yes. During my whole time as a manager, wherever I have worked, always careful. One thing is the quality and potential but I was always on it that we got good personalities and characters who are desperate to defend the shirt of the club and love the badge of the club and give everything, are professional, positive and give good energy for the group, thinking more about the group than themselves. For me, it is every important not just to bring good players in terms of tactical, technical or physical skills, but also in terms of personality. We were careful who we brought in, in the summer, and one secret why many signings worked out with lots of praise, is because we were really careful with personality and character. We will keep going in this way, we will be careful which persons we bring in, we have a good group with unity that are tied together and we don’t want anything that distracts this group from being focused on this level, so that’s a key point, yes.
Farke on concern over full-back injuries
Yes, a little bit, and this is one of the reasons we chose to bring Djed in. Sadly he was also a bit injured, so it is always tricky, especially in January. We are aware that Junior and Sam have both had records in terms of injuries, it’s also fair to say right now in January we head into a period which is a bit more relaxed, we just have one game per week. It will be more relaxed and we have Junior a few weeks back in training with a good first appearance on the pitch the other day against Birmingham. We hope he stays fit as he’s an outstanding player on this level. As you mentioned, we’ll watch carefully what happens over the next weeks. We more or less have four weeks to make a decision and if there is an emergency case or a really good solution in these positions, we will try to make it happen. This is our responsibility, to make sure we create the bet possible squad, but we won’t do anything stupid or out of panic, we will stay awake.
Farke on Peterborough
Yes, first of all, I will tell them they've got quite a good record in cup competition in order to motivate them. We are always respectful, so for me it's more or less a game on Championship level because if you're one of the top teams in League One, you have the quality like a team who is perhaps in mid table or at least in the bottom half of Championship otherwise you can't be in the top position in League One and fight for promotion. We've seen what Ipswich for example, is doing during the season on Championship level and last season they played on League One. So it's a really good side and also a home game for them, a special stage for them to play against Leeds United and everyone each and every player would like to use the stage in order to impress and for that, we expect a pretty tight game and difficult game and we have to be there on our best level because especially also to bring a bit more consistency in our away results also in the league is one of the topics for 2024. And yes, we want to start in the FA Cup knowing that yeah, it's perhaps not the importance of a cup final right now in this game because it's just more or less for us the first round but nevertheless, we want to be there with a good performance and want to go through in order to come as far as possible in this competition.
Farke on cup memories and Leeds' ambitions in the competition
I like this and also when I remember some games, really magic cup nights also this quarterfinal [vs Man Utd, whilst at Norwich] I think yes, we lost in the added time, the 120th minute against Man United. So really like great, great game. So this will be a different right now because after 90 minutes if there is no winner, then there is a replay. It was a scenario during Corona at these times. I'm a big believer in cup competitions, if you wouldn't believe in the cup competition we would send them straight away into the next round and say no we don't travel. I'm a big believer, I want to go as far as we can come and want to win each and every round. I know it's not realistic that we win the FA Cup but I mentioned who knows. I think it's 50 years ago meanwhile for Leeds United and yes it's a great competition with a big history and I think it's also responsibility to present our club and our shirt in this cup in the best possible way. And for that we won't do something stupid in team selection. We won't risk any players but we will also put a strong line-up out because we want to go into the next round knowing that it will be a difficult task. There's no doubt about this, but we're looking forward to our first game and want to go into the next round.
Farke on Klaesson remaining in the starting XI this weekend
Yes, definitely. I was even convinced before that he would be there with a good performance because I could see him growing under the leadership of Ed Wootten each and every day in training but it's definitely something different when you play the first game in a competitive game, his first big full debut for us and then full packed Elland Road in an important game. He had not so much to do but he was there in one or two situations also with good positioning and also some good saves, so to return back to the dressing room with a clean sheet is always a perfect game for a goalkeeper. I'm pretty delighted for him because he deserves it he's a great lad and works hard on the training pitch and he has all our backing and trust and we trust him for the FA Cup game. I'm quite sure that he will also deliver a good performance. But it's also good that it's the last game where we have to miss Illan Meslier, so it's also important that he can return after this game so but for this game, definitely Kristoffer will get our backing and our trust, yes.
Farke on interest in Luke Ayling
No, I'm not interested in because I shared quite often really my appreciation and what I think about Luke and his value for us and I'm not tempted to comment [on] rumours each and every day. Because during this time of the year, so it's a January window, each and every day a player is connected with us or perhaps with outgoings, so if we would comment each and every rumour then we don't have the time in order to work on the training pitch and to concentrate on the game. So we just comment [on] things once business is done and yeah, so I've also no signs for something different. So far, no player was in my office to tell me that he wants to leave or asking for letting him go so it was a different scenario in the summer, I couldn't close the door early enough if I'm honest, I was tempted to shut the door with my keys but right now we are in a much better situation and situation as a club also in a good situation. In the table, good situation, and the season, everyone is really buying into it. So I have no signs that something will happen. We spoke about a few things yes, but that's it and no player was in to tell me that he wants to leave.
Farke on Perkins [continued]
It's not the solution that he [Perkins] comes back and then shines for Leeds United in [the] Championship, where we have even higher demand. So it doesn't work in this way.
Together with our 21s, he has to train and develop into and work on the things that he has to improve and yes, he's got lots of potential and if he can work consistently, there's other chances to shine.
Farke on managing minutes and new Cooper issue
No, like I mentioned, it will be a game on Championship level or you can’t be on the top positions on a League One side. I mentioned the Ipswich example, we are fully aware we lacked consistency in away games - we are fully aware that it’s a difficult game and like I mentioned, we won’t risk any player. I forgot to mention Liam Cooper showed a little muscle reaction after the last game, it will be a tight call and I am not sure if he is available for this game. One thing for sure is that we won’t take any risks and we keep in mind that some players desperately need minutes, and some players have had lots of load in recent months, we take this into account but we want to put a side out who has the chance to go through. We try to balance it in a proper way, but it doesn’t take anything away from our ambition that we want to be successful in this game or we wouldn’t even travel. We would stay at home. No. We want to go into the next round and this is the mentality I want to bring into this club. Whenever you put a Leeds shirt on, a pre-season game, a league game, a cup game, whatever, just a friendly, a show game, you have to take the responsibility to present this shirt in a proper way. The FA Cup is one of biggest cup competitions in the whole of Europe for me, one of the competitions with the biggest history in football and to play this cup competition in the motherland of football, nobody has to motivate me. And if nobody has to motivate me, then also not my players. I will make sure we are on it in this game and again it is not a guarantee we will go through, because it will be a difficult game and we are very respectful but we will try our best to go into the next round.
Farke on Perkins' loan recall
Difficult to say. I was too far away and had to concentrate on the lads here, so it is difficult to give a reason. It’s also difficult what will happen right now, at the moment he’s not part of my plans, I spoke about the culture, he was with us in pre-season and got the chance to impress during training and in the few games in pre-season and first competitive games. We then decided it’s a bit too soon for him to be involved because he didn’t shine in this period. We then had the option to loan him out and it’s fair to say, if we judge it, he was not able to get game time on League One level and sometimes struggling to make the gameday squad. It’s not the solution that he comes back and shines for Leeds United on Championship level when we have even higher demands. It doesn’t work in this way and is the totally wrong sign. He’s together with our Under-21s and he has to train and to develop, work on the things he has to improve and yes, he has lots of potential and if he can work consistently he has chances to shine. But, it’s not like after a loan doesn’t work out and you get no game time, you are credited with a position in the first team, it would send totally the wrong sign in terms of the culture we want to create. We can just back players and trust them and develop them, but we can just bring them close to the door, they have to make the step through the door. This is what we will do, we will work on U21 level with Sonny, give him all the support and trust, work with him to improve and the challenges he has in his game. If he improves he has the chance step by step to be on a higher level, at the moment it is to stay humble and work hard, because if you’re not capable to get any minutes on League One level then it is difficult to shine for us on the level we are.
Farke on Spence continued
No, in general I don't want to talk too much about a Djed right now because he's meanwhile also back at Tottenham and totally respect also that he's their player. Listen, in the summer we came here in order to create and to bring new values and to create a new culture within the club and when we speak about a player if he's here on a permanent or a loan deal, we have expectations and these expectations are in several topics important. Obviously it's important, the potential and the quality of the player but also it's professionalism, it's discipline, his workload on and off the pitch and also the soft skills so if he's positive and committed, good for the group and engaged - all these topics, paint then more or less a picture. And we decided okay, this is the player we want in our group and want to represent Leeds United, our demands are very, very high and we don't differ between loan players permanent players so we are pretty, pretty picky in this topic. It's fair to say that there is no player out the word was perfect in all aspects. So it's not possible, each and every player has strengths and advantages and also perhaps some weaknesses. But it's more or less like we have to decide by all these topics who we want in the squad. We analyse also what has happened in the recent months and also the recent weeks that we came to the decision, it's for us as a club the right decision right now to end the loan but when we make such a decision on such a day, for me, it's then also not the topic that I speak in public about perhaps what was missing or the weaknesses of Djed Spence, because as long as I'm here in charge, I want us as a club to handle such a situation with class and with style. And I think on such a day, it's more or less to say thanks a lot, Djed, for your service. Thanks a lot also for your work and we wish him really all the best because like I mentioned he's really like a cool guy with lots of potential, a good kid with a great heart and we wish him really from the bottom of my heart all the best for his future because he's a really good player. But for us it was definitely the right right call at this moment.
I'm far away at this moment from criticising him or speaking about what was missing. This is not our style and definitely not my style. I would rather explain a bit that it was not easy and a bit unlucky for him because he came in pretty late and then to suffer a long-term injury which kept him out of team training for eight-and-a-half weeks was also unlucky and no one can be blamed for that. Of course, especially when a player comes in on loan the first few weeks are important and if you're spending the first eight-and-a-half weeks training alone at different times it's not the easiest way to settle in and integrate to a group. Also something tragic happened in his private life and he had to stay on London for a few days. You can't accuse the lad for this.
When he got back to fitness he had to help a bit in the full-back position where he plays but on the left side, where he hasn't played that often in his career, due to the situation that Junior Firpo and Sam Byram were injured. It was difficult.
These lads don't need any sympathy because they lead a privileged life and earn so much money but sometimes it can be a bit difficult and unlucky. Some other players have to play in unusual positions - Archie Gray, for example, a midfield player who has delivered many top performances, apart from one or two games perhaps, at right-back. I think of his performance away at Leicester, at home to Ipswich or the home game against Birmingham, for example. It's the same as Jamie Shackleton and Sam Byram who is also a right-footed player and has played more or less the whole season on the left side and is doing it in such a fantastic way that everyone speaks about Sam more as a left-back than a right-back.
It's a privileged position to be a professional footballer but I also want to highlight it wasn't the easiest period for him and sometimes you have to say it doesn't fit at the moment and it was just unlucky that it didn't work out. Then you have to be clear in your decisions. It doesn't take away that we think Djed has big potential and we wish him all the best because he's a really good guy. I want to highlight he was involved in one really good game against Ipswich when he played a major part in our good performance and big win. When I judge it back although the development was a bit unlucky If it was just for that massive three points it was worth bringing him in and thank God we did.
But we felt right now it was the right decision to end the loan. We'll move on from this and he will move on and restart his career.
Farke on injuries
Sam [Byram] will definitely miss this game. He's got a little strain in his hamstring. Not too bad. I have hopes that he's available for the next league game away at Cardiff but he will definitely miss this game. The same for Pascal Struijk, this little injury seems to be a bit worse than we expected. He will definitely miss this FA Cup game and there's also a little doubt if he is really back also for the Cardiff game, we have to see this. Joffy Gelhardt is out with a little glute strain. I expect him to be back in training at some point next week but he will also definitely miss this game. Yes and with Karl Darlow we've got meanwhile the assessment the concrete diagnosis, so he will be out with this finger injury for about seven weeks. That's at least what the doctors say at this moment. We hope obviously and he's also like a fighter that he comes back perhaps even a bit earlier but at the moment we expect him to be out of team training for the next seven weeks.
Farke on January window
To be honest, I'm happy with our squad, I think we have a pretty balanced squad in all areas, so there's not one particular position where you think 'okay, there is definitely a need that you have to do something'. But again, it's also I think, professional to stay awake and also to check if there are some options and if we have the chance to strengthen our squad in terms of quality or perhaps in terms of options, yes, we'll check it and perhaps also do this but there's no necessity to panic or that we need something urgently. So like I mentioned I expect a pretty calm and quiet window.
Farke on likelihood of replacing Spence
No, not immediately. So we were able to be pretty successful on the first 18 game-days where we had to play without Djed because in the beginning he wasn't arrived and then sadly he had this long term injury that kept him out for nearly eight and a half weeks and in training we were capable to find some good solutions in order to be successful. So there is no emergency case. Obviously we won't fall asleep because we brought Djed Spence as a full-back in because we knew about the situation with Junior Firpo who was injured at the time. Also the injury CV of Sam Byram, so we have also meanwhile Archie Gray who has played a lot in the fullback position, Jamie Shackleton, Luke Ayling, several options so there is no emergency case. But if there is an opportunity in the end, so perhaps we will definitely analyse and assess this opportunity, but there is no emergency so we're just doing things that we are 100 per cent convinced of and this is the scenario.
Farke on terminating Spence's loan
Nothing major, we have decided right now after there was a little bit of time after the New Year's game, we've analysed the first half of the season and the impressions over the festive period. Obviously when you make decisions in January, it's not a short-term situation. We wanted to take the impressions over the festive period into account and share thoughts, discuss things and we came to the conclusion that we will end the loan for Djed and he will return back. We're grateful for his time here. We wish him all the best. A player with great potential, a cool guy with a great heart. But yeah, sometimes you need to take a decision then you have to do this and that is what we did.
While we wait...
While we wait for Daniel Farke to arrive, why not tune in to the Inside Elland Road podcast with Graham Smyth and Joe Donnohue on your lunch break?
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