2PA53E9 Leeds United's Jack Harrison (left) celebrates scoring their side's second goal of the game with team-mate Degnand Gnonto during the Premier League match at Elland Road, Leeds. Picture date: Saturday March 11, 2023.
Dan James has issued a confident Leeds United message and Whites player backing ahead of the new Championship season under new boss Daniel Farke.
Wales international winger James is back at Elland Road after last season’s loan spell at Fulham as part of a season in which the Cottagers sealed a tenth-placed finish as the winger’s parent club Leeds were relegated in finishing second-bottom.
James, though, says the mood in the squad is now “great” ahead of the new Championship campaign and that United’s squad possesses the players capable of implementing new boss Farke’s bold footballing plan.
The player started as Leeds took in their latest pre-season friendly against visiting AS Monaco on Saturday in which the Whites fell to a 2-0 defeat as a second-half penalty from Wissam Ben Yedder was followed by a looping Kevin Volland header.
But James says United’s possession-based attacking intent under Farke was there for all to see and that his side will only improve as they gain more fitness ahead of the new campaign.
“We have definitely shown the way he wants to play,” said James to LUTV.
“We want to be a team that dominates possession. You can’t always go full out and win the ball back but I think we want to be a high pressing team, we want to win the ball back and I think as soon as we lose it we want to win it back straight away and we’ve got the players to do it. As we get fitter we will get much better at it.”
James came through 66 minutes of Saturday’s contest in which Farke handed a debut to James’ Wales international team mate Ethan Ampadu, fresh from his arrival from Chelsea for £7m in midweek.
Asked to sum up the mood in the squad, James declared: “I think the mood is great. We have got a great group here. Obviously we were all disappointed to go down last year but everyone has come back ready to go.
“We have to really push this year. We have got a great group, we have added Ethan as well which has been great. We have got so much to show this year and it’s about us doing that. We will go into the next friendly believing that.”
