Sunderland v Leeds United: Daniel Farke press conference every word on January need, injuries, top two and Mateo Joseph praise

For Daniel Farke's pre-Sunderland presser from Thorp Arch. All the news to follow here.

For Whites boss Daniel Farke. Updates here from 2pm. Feels like Sam Byram is the big one on the injuries front, especially with Junior Firpo out. Djed Spence is clearly an option in the position but he is naturally a right back.

Daniel Farke takes his seat.

“Like always when it is such a quick turnaround, we will make some late decisions because in each and every game there are some knocks and you also have to wait for how players recover after an intensive game and also for the last weekend. For that I can't speak too much about our starting XI tomorrow but what I can confirm is that Sam Byram is definitely out for this game with a hamstring strain. The first diagnosis is that he will be out for about three weeks so realistically we expect him to be available for the league just in the new year. Also bad news with Jamie Shackleton, sadly has got a glute injury and he is sadly not available for tomorrow so he will assess him. It's a bit surprising because he trained yesterday normally and then after training in the afternoon he felt a bit in his glute. We've assessed him today and scanned him and sadly he's definitely out for this game so not available. A few players are struggling at the moment with illness and cold and flu. It's this time of year, it's always quite unpredictable because you never know. Each and every morning a different player can wake up and moan about some symptoms but it's difficult to say right now who is really available. One of these players for example is Patrick Bamford who was definitely not available in the last game. He feels, meanwhile, a bit better but has not trained with us so far. We'll have a session this afternoon and we'll test him and assess him and hopefully he can come through the session. I would like to have him available at least. But there are a few other players and for that we'll have to wait. It's that time of the year when you have to show some steel against the odds and also work in these circumstances and for that we have got a big group and I trust all my players and we'll see who is really available.”

"So for me, the Premier League is the best league in the world, the Championship is the toughest and there is no doubt about this when you have this quick turnaround and also for us it is a bit special this week with two difficult away games and we have to travel. There is not much time on the training pitch to prepare the players for a different opponent in comparison to the last game. We have to work a lot more like in a theoretical way with videos but also to make sure that we don't overload the players too much because they have to be fresh also mentally fresh for the game. So it's always finding about finding the right right balance also in terms of load. So during this month, we hardly have a training session altogether. You always separate the groups in recovery. For example yesterday for the players who played many minutes on Saturday and a bit more load for some players - a relatively small group who was not involved. It's always about finding the right balance and you can just make some late decisions and also not train perhaps specifically with your starting lineup. It's always a bit difficult but we don't moan about this. This is just the league and it's for each and every manager and every manager the same and if in the sense of fair play each and everything is correct for each team and club then we don't moan about this. It's more the other way round. I get the feeling for us that the more difficult and the tougher the going gets the better for us because our fitness level is good and also the spirit is high which also helps during this period. If I'm honest, I like it when it's when it's tough and you have to show some steel so for that I don't moan too much about the situation. Just hard work, but I like it."

"Well, we know that we are on a good run and we don't want to hide behind this fact and we are fully aware. But we also know and are also experienced enough and also we as a coaching staff make it clear that you can't allow yourself to enjoy yourself too much and be too proud of yourself. This league is relentless and if you want to be successful in this league then you have to become relentless yourself. And this is what we what we're doing so it's always about smart decisions and also to try to be a role model in terms of being professional and also the soft skills are even more important during this time. So it is important that although everyone would like to enjoy also the time around Christmas with the family, to be even more concentrated on good habits and good nutrition and good sleep and also like to prepare yourself mentally, good recovery. So there's not much Christmas shopping for my lads so they have to give it over to their families. It helps as well sometimes at least. It is a busy period anyhow and you have to keep going and this is what you have to do if you want to be successful in this league and, for that, no complaining about this. It's just part of the job at the moment. And for that there is not much time to think about anything else than just football at the moment and this is what we do."

"No, really, it's not a phrase. It's really like for us it is not important what the others are doing so it's not like we celebrate when the teams around you drop some points or you win some points compared to some competitors or it stays the same or if there is a setback and the gap gets bigger or whatever. It's just about yourselves. You are just allowed to have look at the table from game day 40 because then if you are there with a mistake then you can't repair that well. But during this period it is just important what you're doing and if you are there with a points average that we have at the moment, a point average of two a game, if you can keep this to the 46 games then you know what this means. For that, it's not important during this period. During the second part of the season, when the going gets tough, all the teams will drop points. So for us at the moment it's not important. We want to just make sure that we have a special amount of wins in the end of the season that we have a special points average by the end of the of the season. We are not not addicted to be in the top position after 20-25-30 games. The only thing that matters is where you are after 46 games and for that each and every game is important and each and every game day has the same value so for that we prepare for each and every game like it's it's a cup final, like it's the game of the year and if you do this 46 times and try to win each and every game and if there is a day when you can't win a game then make sure that you don't lose it - this our attitude then you will have a chance to collect many points and let the table take care of itself. So at the moment we are not addicted to have a look on the table, we are addicted to have a look at our performances and to be there with the best possible performances and for at the moment this is the only thing that matters."

"It tells you a lot about this club. They are sitting in the top six and although they weren't in the top six just one week ago they parted ways with a pretty experienced manager on this level in Tony Mowbray. It tells you a lot of the expectations of this club and where they want to finish and if you have an away game against an opponent who is sitting in the top six and who is still not happy with their position then it is definitely one of the most difficult tasks in the season. We are fully aware but we have shown also that we can be there in away games with top performances and top results against the best opponents in this league and for that we travel, like always, with respect but also fully convinced of our strength and we expect the tight game and competitive game again - a but similar for example, like I expected also the last away game at Blackburn. Sunderland is definitely a young, very energetic, exciting site with lots of talent, a club with big expectations and for that, again, we have to be ready and prepared in order to give ourselves a chance to win the match."

"I am fully convinced and we have also a few other options. I'm fully convinced because I trust my whole group and if one player is not available, there's also always a chance for a different player to shine and this is also a typical situation for the Championship. Sometimes you have for one position, two or three players available and you have a tough decision to make and to think about this. And then sometimes more or less two or three natural left backs are not available and you have to go for a different option. I'm used to it. Obviously I would have liked to have had Jamie, to have had Sam and Junior available but this is the situation and we just have to adapt and I trust my whole group. For that, it's a chance also for a different player to shine and to step up and I am fully convinced that whoever I pick in the team that they will fulfil my wishes."

“Yes, he is also available. He is also a potential guy who can play there but at the moment we're focusing a bit more on a few other players but he is also still an option that we have still available and in the last weeks he was a bit more involved with our Under 21s."

"I think it was a pretty impressive pre-season. Sadly he had this long term injury where he was out and especially for a young player who has to earn his player and his place, it's always difficult when you're out for several weeks and then you have to be patient but also work harder than more or less all the others in order in order to come back and this is what he has done in the last weeks. I was pretty impressed. Although he was not always called up for the traveling squad, I spoke a lot with him and we speak about tactical things, about what he can improve and has to improve in his game but also about the soft skills and I have to praise him for his attitude because he is always on it and even sometimes when he is not in the game day squad he is working harder and then also tries to shine then for example in games at under 21 level and this is what you have to do as a young player when you are not involved. For that, it was no gift for him but I got the feeling that he's ready right now to improve us and to shine. Yes, it was just 10 or 15 minutes on the pitch but he has used his chance with a good performance and this was definitely, definitely a good shift. In this way he has to keep going and then he will definitely have a bright future in the game and we will all hopefully have lots of joy and fun with him here in a Leeds shirt and we are all happy that we have him." 

"I don't want to complain too much about this topic because I'm not not responsible for the schedule, for the fixture list. And it's also difficult to complain about this because we have all got the pros of these things and the rewards. For example, the broadcasters spend so much money. And then, yes, obviously, we would also like sometimes to have less load, to have a bit smarter TV picks anyhow, also like in the sense of the game. It's not always like this and obviously it's also not good for the quality of the game, for the well being of the players in total - if it's physical, mental and you also want to have your best players available on the pitch. When I think for example about the international fixtures and they play sometimes Tuesday, Wednesday, all over the world and then the next league game is on Friday evening and some players are heading to this game without a training session. It is like it is and you have to adapt to it to find some solutions but it's not in the sense of the game because in the sense of the game you want your best players available and your best players also in the best possible shape because we all enjoy when it's proper football and not like okay the players are a bit tired and can't be at their best. So in the sense of the game it's definitely not beneficial but it's the development and nowadays if I moan about this or not, it doesn't help it much. I think it's important that the key people who decide about this are smart in their decisions and have good decisions also in the sense of the game and not just on some days and have some speeches about well being and health of the players and when it comes down to business and fixture business then just money matters. So it's development that I don't like but again, so I'm also struggling a bit to complain about this just because you know all the players, all the staff members, managers, whatever, the club's also have the positive things with more money in comparison to perhaps two decades ago. Part of it, I would just wish in the future when we have a decision to make between the sense how this game should be played and money and if it's 50-50, come on let's have a bit more look on the sense of why we play this game and not too much on the money because there's enough money around in this game anyway."

"Not always. But we have also with this experiences. For example Sam Byram who played until his middle 20s as a right back and we would call him a bit more a left back. Also with Philipp Lahm in Germany who was probably at his time the best left back in the world and outstanding German captain and just in his later 20s he moved back to a right back position again. It depends always on the on the player quite often. Especially a player who is there with technical skills and good passing skills who is a right footed player can also play really good on the left side because he has also good passing angles to open the game, to cut inside and to play different roles, like for example Sam Byram has done or Philipp Lahm but I don't want to compare them both too much if I'm honest. But there are other examples and yes, it's definitely possible to shine even if you are a right footed player on the left side."

"I wouldn't label it just because they are out right now injured. I had it in my mind anyway because we know also about the injury history of Junior Firpo who was more than unlucky during the time he was with us although he is such a physical player if he is fit and available. We know what Sam Byram had to deal with throughout his career and I had this in my head anyway so I wouldn't say that they're both right now in the middle of December injured that is is more urgent because I hope also that Junior will be able to return in the upcoming days and back into training. He won't be available for this week but then hopefully at some point even around Christmas he will be back available. Also with Sam, I am expecting him to be at least back available at least for the first game in the league again in January so not just because of these injuries but because of their CV in terms of injuries, I think we have to keep it a bit in our head yes."

"Yes but to be honest it's also not that easy to bring each and every time a player out like Cree Summerville. He us labelled at the moment as the best offensive player in this league so it's not always possible to bring each and every season a player like this into the first team level so it's hard work. In developing their personality and also their skills on youth level, you have to work hard, but I think overall this club has a great track record in these terms. Yes, in recent years, sometimes it was a bit more difficult if I am honest in comparison to perhaps several, several years ago but it has also to do with that it's perhaps a bit easier to come through while the first team is playing League One or Championship level in comparison to Premier League level. I think it should always be a major part and major value in our club that we want to develop our own players and create then really first team players out of them or to create values if we want to sell them one day. I think this should always be a part of the philosophy of Leeds United and to be honest this is also what we want to develop. It's not that easy as first team manager when you have such a turnaround like we had in the summer to concentrate just on these topics in the in the first months. But more like to be there with the right decisions, offer them this chance and to create also a path is quite important. You can also be sure that the longer I work for this club, the more attention I will also put on on this level because this should always be a cornerstone of our philosophy, yes."

"No, we also don't hide behind the fact. It is also totally allowed to think if an opponent drops some points to feel slightly more happy than the other way around. It's totally allowed and it's also allowed to have a look at the table. It's not like we are so addicted that the players are not allowed. It's not witchcraft and it's also quite natural that you have a look at the table and also feel that when an opponent drops points and you improve in the table and you climb up the table to be happy and to feel the joy. I don't want to take this away. This is all okay. It's just more like the general message is, no, we're not addicted to it. It's not like after a good result of our opponents that we are unbelievably down and that after a poor result we're celebrating and dancing on the table. Our main focus really has just been on us than all the other things. It also belongs to football. It's why we love this game and e love to discuss the situation in the table and get some positive developments and to suffer sometimes when there is a setback. I don't want to take this away, this is also a part where we all love this game and believe me, even managers and football players sometimes love this game. It is all allowed and everything is all okay because if you make something out of it then you are overdoing things and then you're not cool enough in the head when it comes down to really crunch time and crucial game, so, yes, my players are allowed and also to speak this and joke about this in the dressing room but we are definitely not obsessed, no."