Tough run of fixtures will not decide my fate, insists bullish Leeds boss Daniel Farke

Leeds boss Daniel Farke has dismissed the suggestion that his job hangs on the outcome of the next three games.

The West Yorkshire club slipped into the relegation zone over the weekend with West Ham and Nottingham Forest both picking up points while Leeds were beaten at home by Aston Villa.

Their chances of moving straight out of the bottom three appear slim thanks to a challenging fixture list that sees them face Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool over the next nine days.

Asked if the next week and a half may determine whether he remains at Elland Road, Farke said: “Not at all. I’m not focused on myself and outside noise. I quite like that the outside noise is on the manager and not the players. I’m just fully focused on the team.”

We are prepared for this situation – Farke

The German admits it is not a surprise to see Leeds struggling following promotion last season and insists he has not deviated from the stated aim.

“We are fully concentrated. We were fully prepared for such a situation that this would happen,” he added.

“There is always outside noise even after our best season in history last season. We fully expected this would happen this season.

“The goal at the start of the season was to finish 17th or above. To finish 17th would be a great success because no other team in the last promoted sides has had the chance to stay in this league.

“I didn’t expect it to be an easy ride.”

Longstaff blow for Leeds

Leeds’ hopes of causing a surprise at the Etihad on Saturday have not been helped by two injury blows with Anton Stach and Sean Longstaff ruled out, the latter for several weeks after sustaining a calf problem against Villa.

Farke said: “Overall, many players are training. Anton Stach will definitely miss the Man City game due to the concussion protocol. If everything works, he will be allowed to return to training Sunday.

“Sadly, Sean Longstaff will miss the game, he is out with a calf injury. He is expected to be out for 4-6 weeks, so we will miss him for a while. It’s of course not ideal.

“Sebastien Bornauw is a doubt, he has some MCL problems. He missed training yesterday and today, it will be a late call about his availability.”