'Come back even stronger' - Leeds boss Daniel Farke remains hopeful despite play-off heartbreak

Adam Armstrong’s 24th-minute strike settled the Sky Bet Championship play-off final at Wembley as Southampton, who like Leeds were relegated from the top flight last year, went back up at the first attempt.

It meant a sixth consecutive play-off campaign without promotion for the Elland Road club, who lost four of their final six matches of the regular season to miss out on a two-top finish.

Farke cut a deflated figure at full-time and revealed he had to console many tearful players, but backed them to use this pain as fuel for promotion in the 2024-25 term.

“Out of such days and disappointment, sometimes you learn more out of it and take extra motivation to make sure next time you are not on the wrong end again,” Farke said.

“You make sure you are also allowed to celebrate and this is obviously what my players want to do in the future.

“We feel the pain and we are deeply disappointed we are not able to send our supporters home with something to cheer about and we are not back in the promised land of the Premier League.

“One thing is for sure is the lads have no reason to dwell on that and will take this as extra motivation to come back even stronger.”

While Farke is determined to mastermind a third promotion from the second tier, having done so twice with Norwich, the reality is Leeds could be braced for a difficult summer.

The German admitted two different scenarios had been drawn up; one for life back in the Premier League or for another promotion tilt in the Championship.

Failure to go up could now result in some of Leeds’ biggest earners and brightest prospects being pursued by other clubs, but Farke has complete belief in the project at Elland Road under owners 49ers Enterprises.

Farke said: “I totally trust this club.

“I totally trust also the key people because my experiences since I sign the contract was, after a difficult start with the (player) exit clauses that we had to suffer until more or less September, this club is totally on the right path.

“But to go into details about what we will do and how we will be even stronger, right now it is the wrong moment to give this message straight after a final.

“Yes, it is always a bit difficult when you don’t know at the end of May exactly in which league you are because of different scenarios.

“For sure, always a bit tricky but in the background we’ve prepared a lot. There will be lots of work to do also over the upcoming weeks, that’s definite for sure.”