Troy Deeney tears into Leeds’ players and claims they didn’t want to take ‘responsibility’ in their play-off final defeat to Southampton… as Neil Warnock suggests Daniel Farke’s side ‘believed in their own publicity’
- Southampton booked their place in the top flight the next year after beating Leeds
- Afterwards, Troy Deeney said the Leeds players could not handle the ‘pressure’
- Has Chelsea offered Manchester United a way out of Erik ten Hag’s darkness through the departure of Mauricio Pochettino? – Listen to the It all starts! Podcast
Troy Deeney has claimed Leeds’ players could not handle the ‘pressure’ in the final moments of their final play-off defeat.
Daniel Farke’s side were beaten 1-0 by Southampton in the Championship showpiece at Wembley on Sunday afternoon after a first-half goal from Adam Armstrong.
It was heartbreak for Leeds, who became the first team since 1997-98 to amass more than 90 points in a Championship season and not be promoted.
Many expected Farke’s side to claim victory that day, but they failed to do so and Deeney subsequently questioned the wishes of some of their players.
Speaking Air sports Speaking after the match, Deeney said: ‘There was a moment in the game today where one of their players, who should have been in the penalty area, was the second man down.
Troy Deeney breached Leeds’ display in the dying stages of their final play-off defeat
Daniel Farke’s side will play in the Championship for another year after losing 1-0 to Southampton
‘In the 97th minute, when you’re trying to win. That tells me you don’t want the pressure of “this opportunity could fall on me.”
‘The responsibility. Because if you miss, people will question you. But if you don’t do anything, people in the game, like us, will question you. And I just wonder where some of these were.
“It felt like, for three or four of those players, this game was for them. And it was like, ‘Next year I probably won’t be here, so let me show how good I am.’
Neil Warnock, one of Deeney’s fellow pundits for the match on Sky Sports, agreed, claiming Leeds had ‘believed in their own publicity’.
Since Farke’s squad included star players such as Crysencio Summerville and Wilfried Gnonto, many thought they would be promoted.
Instead, however, they join MK Dons as the only club to have competed in six play-off campaigns and been successful in none of them.
Armstrong’s first-half strike secured a thrilling 1-0 win for the Saints at Wembley and earned them an unprecedented payday of £180 million.
The striker timed his run to perfection to meet Will Smallbone’s pass and put his 24th (and most important) goal of the season into the far corner.
Leeds pushed for an equalizer after the break, but Summerville and Gnonto squandered golden opportunities to save their top dream.
Fellow pundit Neil Warnock also lamented the Leeds players’ approach to the game
Saints skipper Jack Stephens lifts the play-off title after their win at Wembley
Substitute Daniel James blasted a powerful effort off the crossbar seven minutes from time and saw a later effort saved as the Whites piled on the pressure.
Just 12 months ago, Southampton, owned by Serbian media mogul Dragan Solak, finished bottom of the Premier League, 11 points adrift of safety.
Leeds had also entered the Championship after finishing 19th.
However, both clubs had to settle for the play-offs this season, despite aiming for the automatic places. Leeds finished third, ahead of fourth-placed Saints.