Leeds United boss Daniel Farke says "it's no longer in their hands" but still optimistic
Leeds United’s hopes for automatic promotion to the Premier League took a severe hit after suffering a devastating 4-0 defeat against QPR on Friday night.
Despite still maintaining their position above Ipswich Town in the Championship table, Leeds now have only one game remaining, while Ipswich has three. This loss has significantly tightened the race for a top-two finish.
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Daniel Farke acknowledged the challenge his team faces but remained resolute in their pursuit of promotion.
In a post-match press conference, Farke emphasized that his team wouldn’t concede their automatic promotion aspirations until it’s mathematically impossible.
However, he conceded that Ipswich would deserve congratulations if they secure their next two games.
“I would’ve loved to take the pressure away by being promoted after today, from us [it] would be much better,” said Farke.
“It is no longer in our hands anymore, it is not in our hands, so the race is not over but congratulations to Leicester because they are promoted and it is well deserved.
“But, in comparison to Ipswich, nothing is over.
“If they win their next two games, then I’ll be the first one to come out and say ‘congratulations, you deserve it’ but if they don’t win the next two games then we have everything to play for in the last game, and that is what we definitely will do.
“We are in the chasing role again since day one.
“One thing is for sure, we will never give up until it’s theoretically done.
“I spoke before, there are two bullets, first is automatic promotion, the second is the play-offs.
“We have the second bullet, and at the moment it’s perhaps even a bit more realistic to speak about it, okay, but as long as we have a chance I’m far away from giving up on that.
“We are playing too much of a really good season, 90 points after 45 games, so this is sometimes crazy.
“As long as we have a chance, we try everything in order to try and climb, perhaps even if it’s in the final game, this is what we’re trying to do.
“If this is not possible, then we go for the second bullet, but for now we’ll concentrate on the first.”
Leeds currently occupies the second spot in the Championship, but their position is precarious, as Ipswich could overtake them if they secure wins in their upcoming matches.
Ipswich Town F.C Promotion Prospect.
Ipswich’s next fixture sees them facing Hull City, a game that could potentially shuffle the top of the table standings.
Kieran McKenna’s Ipswich side, though not in action since April 13th, aims to secure the necessary wins to clinch promotion.
With matches against Coventry City and Huddersfield Town in their final fixtures, Ipswich eyes a strong finish to their campaign.
While the loss against QPR dealt a significant blow to Leeds’ promotion aspirations, the race for the top-two spots in the Championship remains highly competitive, with both Leeds and Ipswich striving to secure automatic promotion to the Premier League.
