The Leeds United 'non-negoitables' Large Ramazani has had spelt out
LARGIE RAMAZANI must start delivering on Leeds United's "non-negotiables" to return to the starting XI, manager Daniel Farke has warned.
Despite a hugely impressive initial impact, the 24-year-old's only starts this calendar year have come in the FA Cup.
The unused substitute suffered the indignity of seeing defender Isaac Schmidt preferred on the left wing as Leeds pushed in vain for a winner at Luton Town on Saturday, and was again on the bench for Tuesday night's Championship game at Middlesbrough.
Farke says it is because the winger is not reliable enough in the details he demands from all players, and it has been spelt out to him
"We all love Largie Ramazani, we all wanted to bring him in (from Almeira last summer) because he has this touch of magic," he said.
"Sadly his (ankle) injury (in October/November) stopped this momentum a bit. He's a confidence and mood player and always go for risky solutions.
"He sometimes comes on when we chase a game and the space is a bit tight and it's not easy for him.
"In the last days I had an honest chat about what we want to see and a few things are not negotiable.
"Sometimes he can be the spark in the game but it's also important in a crunch time period of the season and often of the game that you have to be reliable in the details.
"There are a few things that are not negotiable. For example, when you bring a fresh player in – not just Largie, in general – after 60, 70, 75 minutes you should invest more in terms of covered distance and intensity than the player you substitute.
"If the player who comes in with fresh legs covers less distance, in metres per minute, this is not what you want; you want to make your team fresher and invest more instead of being a bit more lazy. This is not negotiable.
"Then (I want players) to be strong and reliable and not always go for the most risky solutions. If you are fighting for titles it's important to be reliable.
"We're not angry with him, it's just a few things. He has to learn and develop and then he can make a big impact. We spoke about this.
"Right now it's up to him to deliver it in training and earn the right to get the minutes again."