Daniel Farke ‘not right choice’ if Leeds United fail to match his ambition as manager
The German coach says he doesn't want to remain at Elland Road just to fight another relegation battle
Last updated 15th May 2026
Daniel Farke has declared he is “not the right choice” to remain as Leeds head coach if the club fails to match his ambition in the summer.
The 49-year-old German guided Leeds to Premier League safety with three games to spare in their first season back in the top flight having led them to promotion as second-tier champions in 2025.
Farke said Leeds had hit all the targets agreed by him and the club’s owners, 49ers Enterprises, when he arrived in 2023 on a four-year contract, and that now is the time to start talks on the next “project” at Elland Road.
“I’m ambitious and this is quite important for me going forward,” he said before Sunday’s final home game of the season against Brighton.
“I love attractive football, perhaps for sides in the top half of the table, but I love to be a manager who plays for something rather than to avoid something.
“I’m not the right choice if it’s about maintaining the status quo. I have to be convinced of a project and I am at my best when I buy into a project. I can be picky and choose what I am convinced of.
“Leeds have had one good season in the Premier League in the last 25 years, the (first) season (back) with Marcelo (Bielsa), and we didn’t build on it.
“You have to develop and you have to evolve. This is what I stand for, so it’s important that we speak internally together and very trustfully together.”
Farke said there was “no doubt in my head” that he wanted to stay on in the role as he thanked the owners, his players and the club’s fans following a successful season, in which he also led them to a first FA Cup semi-final since 1987.
“There is no doubt in my head, but it’s important that we don’t just write the story ongoing,” he added. “I’m full of belief and energy, but we have to speak realistically about what the goals are and what the next steps are and to have a vision.
“We had a three-year plan and we have to have similar again. If you just try to survive again then what happens is what happens last time (when Leeds were relegated in 2023).
“The boxes are ticked and you have to set yourself new goals and I know what is possible here at Leeds United and how much I believe in this club, but it is important we are all on the same page because I don’t run the club. I run the squad and it is important we talk.
“Can we keep our best players, can we get new players? One thing is for sure, I will just lead a project when I am in charge and we have to speak about it like we did three years ago, very honestly, because just to survive for one more year makes no sense.”