Brian Deane believes Leeds United should stick with Daniel Farke next season despite the German missing out on a hat-trick of promotions in as many seasons in the Championship last season, but has warned his former side about the difficulty of securing promotion after Ipswich Town’s success last year.

Leeds were unable to gain promotion at the first time of asking and facing a tough summer period of rebuilding, with multiple players already leaving the club, including the likes of Archie Gray among others who were key to their fight for promotion.

They have so far secured three signings but will need to replace key personnel who depart, especially those that were a major part of the reason they finished the season in third and a play-off final.

For Leeds, the battle for promotion from the Championship was a difficult one to navigate for Farke, having fallen off somewhat during the business end of the campaign after a blistering spell from January until March. However, results at the back end of the season saw Farke come under some scrutiny from certain sections of the fanbase, having failed to gain automatic promotion from a strong position.

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

Farke has also had plenty to deal with, having had to cope during the summer transfer period, which was a frenetic time for the club, with many of their signings left until late in the window due to a slow start to the summer after an uncertain period of ownership prior to 49ers Enterprises buying Leeds.

Briane Deane’s 2024/25 Leeds United prediction

With Leicester City, Ipswich Town, and Southampton all securing promotion, Leeds’ run at the automatic promotion places appears to be somewhat easier than last year for many fans and pundits alike.

However, ex-Leeds United striker Brian Deane has declared that his former side should avoid complacency in 2024/25, and has backed Farke as the man to secure their place in the Premier League.

Deane, speaking exclusively to Football League World, via football today, said: “I think it’s going to be tough, because you’ve got the three teams that have just come down.

“And you’re going to have other teams that are going to want to make an impression and then the teams that are going to look at what Ipswich have done, so it’s not going to be easy.

“We will know in the first six weeks, I think. We’ll have an idea anyway!”

Deane was then asked if Daniel Farke is the right man to secure promotion with Leeds next season, after missing out through the play-off final in 2023/24. He added: “Yes, I don’t see why not!

“I think he came in and took over the side when there was a lot going on in the background and he steadied the ship. It is a massive job at Leeds, and I think that he has shown enough to say that he is the right person.

“I don’t think that changing managers when you have a bad result is the right way. They need players who understand what it’s like and what it means to play for Leeds United. That’s the biggest thing that they need, they need characters; characters that can fill the shirt.”

The Whites are still in a strong position for 2024/25 after they missed out on promotion, and although there are challenges Farke needs to find better answers for, Deane 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 last term.

The Whites will continue to lose some of their best players this summer, 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 Whites in the long run, especially when factoring in some of the difficulties they have faced this year, which should be eased with more stability at the club this summer.

There will be a surprise package or two vying for promotion again, much like Ipswich last year, but a strong transfer window in terms of incomings will have Leeds fighting it out for promotion once more in 2024/25.