'Probably underachieved' - Daniel Farke given brutal reminder of Leeds United's Championship task

Daniel Farke is gunning to complete a hat-trick of promotions out of the Championship. The Leeds United boss oversaw an excellent 90-point haul last season but slip-ups in crucial moments allowed Ipswich Town and Leicester City to seal the top two spots.

A 1-0 defeat to Southampton in the Championship play-off final consigned the Whites to another year in the second tier of English football. A summer firesale then ensued, with Farke losing a number of his top players following their failure to secure an immediate Premier League return.

But the German reshaped his first team squad and again has them competing in the upper echelons of the division. United enter the international break firmly in the mix for automatic promotion.

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And with key players in the form of Ethan Ampadu, Ilia Gruev and Largie Ramazani to return from injury over the coming weeks and months, United should only get stronger the longer the campaign goes on. Most bookmakers and pundits tipped the Whites to go up before a ball was even kicked. So far, so good.

Speaking to The Square Ball podcast, former Whites defender Aidan White said: “I think automatic is the goal, isn’t it?

“Unfortunately, even if we get promoted via the play-offs if worst came to worse then I still think we’ve probably underachieved. Automatic promotion is the one this year.”

After the two-week international break, Farke's troops will go head-to-head with Swansea City on Sunday, November 24. Left-back Junior Firpo will sit-out the trip to South Wales. He will serve the second of a three-match suspension after being charged by the Football Association with violent conduct during their recent defeat to Millwall.