Some Leeds United players were crying as they reflected on Wednesday’s defeat in their locker room at The Den. According to Daniel Farke, his younger players were having a hard time processing the Millwall loss, but he wanted them to be dejected and channel that suffering for the remainder of the season.
Despite having much more shots on goal and dominating possession in Bermondsey, the Whites’ custodian Lukas Jensen was never truly put to the test. Jake Cooper headed the ball down for Japhet Tanganga to volley home in the first half, one of Millwall’s numerous risky set-pieces against the Whites.
At the disputed free-kick, Farke was not afraid to call out two players for failing to follow the defender’s run onto the second ball. According to replays, these were Joe Rothwell and Joel Piroe.
Even though it was the team’s first loss since September 14, every point lost damages a promotion candidate. The youngest Leeds players to take the pitch in the capital were Wilfried Gnonto and Mateo Joseph, and Farke said that his less seasoned players were the ones who were upset.
He declared, “I want them to be disappointed too.” “This is my preference. With all due respect, it was the Championship’s fourteenth gameday. Even though it’s really just another workday right now, I noticed tears in my players’ eyes—not all of them, but particularly the younger ones.
“This is my preference. I can see their desire, their emotional state, and the fact that they have no complaints. Since it will result in a circumstance where there is another ball and a set-piece on the second post the following time, I want them to experience the anguish as well as the world going down tonight.
Farke did attempt to strike a balance with a long-term perspective in his post-match press conference, saying, “I guarantee you these players will drop right now to be there for the second ball.” The manager acknowledged that he was suppressing his disappointment with the outcome, but he said he thought the first-half performance was excellent.
The German sees no sense in becoming passionate and reacting with his post-match comments.
“They’re disappointed, not irritated,” he remarked. “I’m unhappy too, but at this point, it also doesn’t make sense for me to be crying and too emotional during the news conference while attempting to objectively analyse what went wrong.
“When you lose a game, there’s always something that went wrong. Additionally, it [does not make sense] to discuss what we must do, because there isn’t anything significant that has to alter or anything.
“It’s more like: you have to play with more effectiveness in the last third and without making any mistakes.”
