Leeds United: Lee Sharpe urges 49ers to take Daniel Farke action | OneFootball

Lee Sharpe believes Leeds United should stick with Daniel Farke next season, irrespective of the outcome of the play-off final against Southampton on Sunday.

Following their respective relegations last term, the pair came into this season as two of the favourites for automatic promotion, and have been entangled in a four-way race for the top two in the Championship.

Ipswich Town and Leicester City won that race, meaning Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion were Leeds and Southampton's opponents in the play-offs. The Whites and the Saints made home advantage count in the second-leg of their semi-finals with Norwich and West Brom after both drawing their first game 0-0 away from home, to set up a mouth-watering clash at Wembley this Sunday.

After overcoming that duo on aggregate, the third and fourth placed teams will now get the chance to make an immediate return to the top-flight by winning the so-called ‘richest game in football’ at Wembley.

For Leeds, the battle for promotion from the Championship was a difficult one to navigate for Farke, having fallen off somewhat at the back end of the campaign after a blistering spell from January until March. However, recent results have seen Farke come under some scrutiny from the fanbase.

They won just once in the last six games of the regular season prior to facing Norwich, including losing four of those. It allowed Southampton to catch up by the final games, who they had been above for much of the season in pursuit of the automatic promotion places.

Lee Sharpe's Daniel Farke verdict

Farke has had plenty to deal with, having had to navigate the summer transfer period, which was a frenetic time, with many of their signings left until late in the window after three games had already been played with no wins in that time.

Lee Sharpe appeared in 35 games for Leeds between 1996 and 1999, scoring six times. The second tier can be unforgiving at times, which Leeds fans must remember, and the 52-year-old believes sticking with the German is vital, and that his former side will be promoted this season, should they fail to beat Southampton at Wembley.

Asked whether Farke was the right coach to take the Whites forward into next year, he told Football League World in an exclusive interview, via William Hill: “Absolutely, yes (Leeds should stand by Farke even if they lose).

“You can’t keep changing managers and Farke has done a top job this year. Leeds only just missed out on automatic promotion, and you need consistency to drive long-term success.

“Farke has proven he can succeed at this level and must be given another shot at promotion if Leeds don’t make it.

“Some good young players are coming through and some players may have to leave, but I would be very confident, if Leeds don’t make it, they go up next year.”

Daniel Farke and Leeds United

The Whites are still in a strong position should they miss out on promotion, and although there are challenges Farke needs to find better answers for, Sharpe is right to point out that he is the right man for the role in many ways.

Leeds have started to struggle when teams compact the middle of the pitch or sit deep in a low block, and solutions can be found both tactically and in the transfer market. However, Farke has won the league twice at this level, and finished in third during his other full season this term.

Leeds may lose players this summer if they lose to Southampton, but continuity with a manager and strong squad with a two-time winner of the Championship at the helm could be of huge benefit to the West Yorkshire outfit in the long run, especially when factoring in some of the difficulties they have faced this year.