Leeds United v Millwall: Daniel Farke senses desperation which will have knock-on effect for FA Cup

It might not be on show at home to Millwall in Saturday’s early kick-off, but it will certainly be seen on the team sheet. And manager Farke hopes it will be even more apparent in the end-of-season league table.

Having missed the boat last season, the Whites really need to get back into the Premier League this time around. Coming down and taking stock is a thing of the past now parachute payments give clubs dropping out of the top division such a competitive advantage over the rest of the Championship.

They reduce over three years (two for Sheffield United), so losing the play-off final having looked well set to go up automatically weeks earlier was costly. Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter's departures were all part of the bill.

With his team top of the table after 30 games – they will remain so this weekend regardless of how Sheffield United and Sunderland get on – Farke's job will surely be on the line if they mess up once more.

Leeds can plan long-term with signings like Robbie Cook, the 18-year-old goalkeeper signed from Perth Glory on Friday, but it is all about what happens between now and May – they will hope early May.

Fortunately, Farke senses a recognisable hunger in his group sharper than this time last year.

You might ask what this has to do with an FA Cup fourth-round tie, but it will cast a shadow over it.

Not since West Ham United in 1980 have a team from outside the top division lifted one of football's most historic trophies (made in Bradford in 2011) and whilst Leeds have been careful to make all the right noises about wanting to win, they are not desperate to do so.

In modern football when you hear that sort of talk, best to put money on a weakened team. At least Farke is honest about it.

Even at Elland Road against opponents with whom they have history and who beat them in November, Leeds will be taking eggs out of the FA Cup basket and putting them in the one marked "promotion".

They will hope the quality of their fringe players is enough to tame Millwall's Lions and if the mindset is right and not distracted by the whiff of apathy in the air, it should be. But they will expect to beat Watford on Tuesday. They are desperate to give themselves the best possible chance.

Of course the club, not to mention the fans, were desperate to go up last year too, but it never happened. Farke believes not all the players were, but they are now.

"The key players who were on fire (last season) perhaps didn't have their prime period in the final games," he reflects now. "That was also a bit due to the individual situations of the players – I don't want to speak about this again or criticise because this time is over. It feels like a different squad now with different individuals in key positions.

"I had promotion in Norwich in my first (title-winning) season (2018-19) with a team where it was for them more or less the chance of their life to go up because the players who were promoted to the Premier League had never played before at that level and to be honest, most of them never afterwards.

"It was a life-changing chance for all of them. I would compare it with Ipswich last season.

"There were not many other Premier League sides circling around (the players) so they had to grab the chance. This spirit, this togetherness, this once-in-a-lifetime chance, when the going gets tough, it can make a big difference.

"With the contract situation for us (with Gray, Summerville and Rutter having release clauses if the club missed out on the Premier League) it made it a bit of a different scenario and difficult. There were several scenarios that were difficult without criticising any player or what happened before, it was just a fact that our set-up was slightly different.

"I was successful in a similar scenario perhaps in my second promotion season with Norwich (2020-21). Right now it feels like I have a group who are desperate to be successful together, giving their life for each other.

"You see it in the celebrations afterwards in the dressing room with players who are not in the starting line-up, not on the pitch at all or just a few moments.

"They are celebrating with each other so the spirit is really good and it gives me lots of confidence that we will be on it until the last minute of the season to finish in the best possible position and we will see what the outcome is."

But there are limits to that desperation, so unfortunately a competition so special to many football fans will take a back seat.

"We know it’s perhaps not realistic for us to win the FA Cup but who knows? Strangers things have happened," says Farke.

"I think one, two, maximum three positions are healthy for a group but I think in this game due to this quick turnaround (from Wednesday's Championship game at Coventry City) and the games afterwards we'll rotate a few more.

"If we have the chance in front of a packed Elland Road to go into the next round, we want to take it without risking anything."

They are not the words of a desperate man. Tuesday at Vicarage Road could be different.