What James Maddison has just said proves The 49ers were right to keep Daniel Farke at Leeds United

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A couple of weeks ago, Leeds United fans were pleading with The 49ers to sack Daniel Farke and many couldn’t believe what they were waiting for after the defeat to Nottingham Forest.

More piled on the sack Farke bandwagon after a loss against Aston Villa despite an improved display. It felt inevitable that Farke would go, even more so after the failed comeback away at Manchester City.

The pressure is mounting on Daniel Farke… should Leeds United sack him?⌛

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However, the 49ers stuck to their guns. Paraag Marathe and the Leeds board decided that Farke would remain in the job if Leeds could get a result against either Chelsea last Wednesday, or even Liverpool.

Well, Farke did both. Beating Chelsea and drawing with Liverpool late on. Two superb results that will give Leeds confidence going into the final three games of the year, and it’s down to Farke’s tactical switch.

• READ MORE: Bad memories as Leeds United handed referee that took charge of the play-off final

James Maddison has been speaking about playing under Farke

On Sky Sports on Monday Night Football, Tottenham and England midfielder James Maddison discussed playing under Farke while at Norwich. The Spurs star is currently injured and set to be out for the season.

He said: “Daniel Farke was my manager at Norwich, which is 10 years ago. That makes me feel old. Yeah, he was very tactically flexible. I remember him very specifically asking about different roles of me.

“He liked having the tactics board. So I know he is always thinking about the tactical side of things, so to see him changing the system and getting success from it at Leeds does not surprise me at all.”

Clearly, Farke is perhaps more proactive and tactically flexible than many Leeds fans gave him credit for. The last week, from half-time at Man City until now, has proven that Farke can outsmart others tactically.

Where does Daniel Farke’s future at Leeds United now lie?

Gary Neville says the 49ers will have binned plans to sack Farke. Rightly so after the last week, and the way that Farke has managed to change things to produce instant results against Chelsea and Liverpool.

However, Jamie Carragher doesn’t think Leeds are out of the woods yet. Despite some “brilliant management” from the German, Carragher said Leeds are going to struggle simply due to their squad.

For now, Farke will remain in charge and it is likely that he stays put until the new year. But ultimately, the only way Farke keeps the pressure off his back is by remaining above the point-a-game line this season.

At the moment, Farke has guided Leeds to 15 points from 15 games. If Leeds can get three points from the next three, great. But there is a real chance to get more than that, with Sunderland weakened.