With Leeds United’s curtain raiser against Nottingham Forest just around the corner, Whites manager Daniel Farke is hopeful the results of a productive pre-season schedule will come to fruition in the Premier League.
After a Stateside tour, home fixtures against RB Leipzig and FC Augsburg, and a meeting with Manchester United, the boss believes his squad are in a great shape hoping to build on last campaign’s 14th-place finish.
“We are on a good path and lots of hard work,” the German exclusively told Premier League Productions ahead of Saturday’s opener. “The new lads are settling in quite well, they are very much integrated into our group.
“It is a relatively easy group to settle in and we have signed really good characters with proper quality. That always helps.
“We had a good training camp in the US with great training facilities, good friendly matches against strong opponents, many teams who are playing in Europe very often.
“We had good results against them. So, it seems we are well prepared but everything that just counts and matters is more or less, you have to be prepared when the real stuff starts.
“So for that, we are not over the moon or we don’t lose ground under our feet. We know that we are on a good path and we are in a good mood and also confident.”
Saturday’s opener pits the Whites against a side who last season reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League. While the summer has been a productive one behind the scenes at Thorp Arch, the boss is thrilled for competitive football to be back.
“We also know that the real stuff will just start with the beginning of the first game in Nottingham and for that we want to be prepared.
“We are a promoted side in our second year on Premier League level. It still will be important that we work hard, work perhaps even a bit harder on our fitness level than perhaps some teams on the top end of the table with lots of individual quality.
“It is important to stay flexible in our tactical approach. It is important that we always follow our game plan and that we put a bit of selfish thinking about just individuals to the side and think about the whole group.
“This is also what we have to make sure show we again during this season. So, we try to find a balance, confidence out of last season but also stay greedy and stay motivated and do the basics and stay focused. I think this balance will be the key.”
