“It’s been difficult, Obviously at the end of the day, I want to be playing as many minutes and as many games as possible”- Leeds star admits life has been difficult under Daniel Farke as Elland Road exit now looks almost certain this summer due to frustration over lack of playing time

Daniel Farke is on the cusp of guiding Leeds United back to the Premier League at the first attempt and he has done it without changing his side much, and some players have missed out as a result.

Throughout the season, Illan Meslier, Joe Rodon, Ethan Ampadu, Glen Kamara, Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter have been mainstays in this Leeds side, leaving little room for others. That consistency in personnel has given those listed plenty of confidence, but it has meant that other players have been unable to get a look in under the Leeds manager during the 2023-24 campaign.

Mateo Joseph for example, deserved to start in the Championship after goals against Chelsea and a goal against Watford. Karl Darlow will have expected to play more when joining from Newcastle last summer.

Another is captain Liam Cooper, who has spoken about his lack of game time this season to the Yorkshire Evening Post. cooper has had injuries, but has been forced to watch from the sidelines by boss Farke.

The left-footed central defender has only been afforded 11 starts all season and 19 games on the whole. He started the opening day of the season but injured himself scoring the first of two goals against Cardiff.

Cooper is expected to leave Leeds this summer with his contract due to expire, ending a 10-year stint at Elland Road and clocking up nearly 300 matches. He has now discussed his lack of game time this term.

“It’s been difficult. Obviously at the end of the day, I want to be playing as many minutes and as many games as possible. But you’ve got to get your head around that. Obviously I got injured at a difficult time.

“It was always difficult to get injured like that. It’s been difficult, but you have to take on a different role. Keep the lads motivated, lead by example, standards in training and off the pitch. I think I’ve done that.”

Speaking ahead of the play-off semi-final second leg against Norwich, Cooper wrote in his programme notes that it had been a pleasure to captain Leeds. It suggested that he knew his time was up at Leeds.

Of course, he could sign a new deal and continue his legacy at Leeds. But the chances are that if Leeds win against Southampton on Sunday, he won’t sign a new deal while failure to go up could see him stay.

Whether Cooper gets some game time on Sunday remains to be seen but it is not a game in which Farke can hand out appearances for the sake of it. But who knows, Leeds may have to call on Cooper.