Daniel Farke says Leeds ace was not at his best against Southampton, but still a ‘key player’

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Daniel Farke has reiterated Liam Cooper remains a ‘key player’ for Leeds United despite not having ‘his best day’ at Southampton.

Farke was speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of tomorrow’s match with Queens Park Rangers, where he asked about Cooper’s role in the squad this season.

Perhaps surprisingly, Cooper kept his place in the starting XI at Southampton on Saturday despite the return of Joe Rodon from suspension.

Rodon had been starting to build a formidable partnership alongside Pascal Struijk for Leeds until his red card at Hull City, but Farke opted against bringing him back into the side.

Ultimately, this proved costly for Leeds as they were beaten comfortably on the south coast, with Cooper at fault for Southampton’s opener just two minutes into the game.

Farke says Cooper still a ‘key player’ at Leeds

While it feels like Rodon will return from the start at Elland Road tomorrow night, Farke has maintained that Cooper remains an ‘unbelievably important’ part of his squad.

He said: “Liam is an unbelievably important part of group, there is no doubt he is our club captain and he didn’t win this in the lottery, it’s more like it’s well deserved. If I speak about a player and a human being, who lives this club, he’s more or less got white blood in his veins.

“I’m full of praise for him, yes first goal he could’ve done better but there were three or four little mistakes that led to this goal. His performances so far, brilliant pre-season. On the pitch in pre-season, we did not concede one goal. Sacrificed his body to score a big goal against Cardiff. Injured and we played without him.

“Worked hard on rehab and he came into the second last game after being out for so long and helped us keep a clean sheet. It was not his best day on Saturday, but it was the same for a lot of players. Does not mean he will play every minute, but he will be a key player for us.”

Cooper is now at the stage of his career where he remains a vital part of the dressing room, but his role on the pitch should be taking more of a backseat.

The 32-year-old is ideal to come in for if Rodon or Struijk are ever absent for whatever reason, but if both are fit, they should be the starting pair in every game.