Norwich v Leeds: Daniel Farke backs Whites after bad run

Leeds United boss Daniel Farke says he has “total belief and trust” in his players before Sunday’s Championship play-off semi-final against Norwich City.

The Whites, who were relegated from the Premier League last season, finished third in the Championship table after winning just one of their final six games.

“I totally trust my players and believe in them. They have all my backing and trust,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.

“We are not the most experienced side and we are not perfect but I would not swap one player.”

He added: “I think we have a winning mentality because on special occasions and spotlight games we are spot on. We played twice against Leicester and won two times, we beat Ipswich twice.

“Sometimes some more consistency would have been great for ‘another day in the office’ games but when you finish with 90 points you can’t complain too much. We have two spotlight games now and I’m optimistic.”

Farke spent four years in charge of the Canaries between 2017 and 2021 and twice led them to the Championship title.

His team did the double over the Carrow Road side in the regular season but the German says those results will have no bearing on this semi-final.

“It doesn’t count anymore. All the negative or good things don’t matter anymore, this is a new competition,” he said.

“It’s good that we came third to have the second tie at home but we just have to concentrate on the here and now and not look back too much.”