Leeds mentality questioned following Championship playoff loss

Troy Deeney has questioned the mentality of the Leeds United players following their Championship playoff final loss to Southampton.

The Whites went down 1-0 at Wembley on Sunday, missing the chance to return to the Premier League at the first attempt.

Saints took the lead in the first half through striker Adam Armstrong and despite controlling 63% of possession and attempting 10 shots in the second half, Leeds had no answer. In fact, Daniel Farke’s men managed just one shot on target after the break, only generating 0.55 Expected Goals.

Deeney believes the defeat was down to Leeds players being unwilling to take responsibility in the second half when the hunt for an equaliser was on.

“There was a moment in the game today where one of their players, who should have been in the box, was the second furthest man back,” Deeney told Sky Sports (via Daily Mail).

“In the 97th minute, when you’re trying to win. Now that says to me that you don’t want the pressure of ‘this chance could fall to me’.

“The responsibility. Because, if you miss, then people are going to question you. But if you don’t do anything then people in the game, like us, we question you. And I just question where some of these were at.

“It felt like, for three or four of those players, this game was for them. And it was like, ‘I’m probably not going to be here next year so let me show how good I am’.”

Leeds fall short in disastrous end to the season

Leeds spent the entire season involved in an intense battle for the two automatic promotion spots alongside Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton.

It was the former two who secured a direct route into the Premier League, but only after Leeds spent no fewer than eight weeks in the top two across various points of the season. The Whites even briefly topped the table following a 2-0 win over Millwall in March.

But since that victory — and including Sunday’s loss at Wembley — Leeds managed just three more wins from their remaining 11 games, running out of steam at the worst possible moment. Now, they must pick themselves up for another promotion push next season.

“It was a difficult day for us and a day of suffering but that’s football,” a defiant Farke said after the playoff final (via Sky Sports). “You have to get on with it, rest and use the disappointment as motivation for next season.”

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