Daniel Farke insists that Jack Harrison has the chance to win back the trust of the fans after he was booed by large sections of Leeds supporters in Ireland during their 1-1 draw against AC Milan on Saturday.
Harrison came on in the 75th minute in front of a sell-out crowd and was jeered but as his short cameo went on, he was backed by other sections of Leeds fans whenever he touched the ball.
The reason for the boos was due to Harrison leaving Leeds to play for Everton on loan in the last two seasons. Leeds welcome Everton next Monday in their Premier League opener.
‘It (the boos) wasn’t a surprise, Farke admitted. ‘It was expected with his first outing in front of such a large amount of Leeds supporters. Our supporters have the right to have an opinion and it was challenging for our supporters with his decisions.
‘But I also liked the reaction of the others, who clapped whenever he touched the ball. It’s still up to Jack to win everyone over – to show commitment, to show desire and be brave and this is the best way. He has presented himself within the group as a top character and he has all the chances to win our supporters back.
‘You could feel that he’s won a few back already because after the boos, others were clapping. Jack has all the chances to prove that he can play an important role for us in the upcoming season,’ added Farke.
Leeds boss Daniel Farke has insisted that ‘it’s up to Jack Harrison’ to win supporters back
Harrison was booed by large sections of Leeds fans during their 1-1 draw against AC Milan
The reason for the boos was due to Harrison leaving Leeds to play for Everton on loan in the last two seasons
Leeds went behind in the first half after Santiago Gimenez gave Milan, who play Chelsea on Sunday, the lead. But Farke’s side equalised in the second half through Anton Stach to cap off an unbeaten pre-season. Nevertheless, the German admitted that his side need more attacking firepower for their return to the top flight.
‘In comparison to our Championship squad, we haven’t improved our offensive side,’ Farke stressed.
‘In order to be competitive for a long season, we definitely need signings for the offense – players who can score and assist. We are not prepared yet for the Premier League. We are prepared to be competitive for one or two games and we’re capable to play on a good level. We played well against AC Milan, Villarreal and Manchester United (in pre-season) but we’ve drawn those games so you need those types of players,’ he added.
The Leeds boss also confirmed that Illan Meslier is now his fourth-choice goalkeeper after the French keeper was left behind and stripped of his number one jersey, with new signing Lucas Perri making his debut and Karl Darlow and Alex Cairns available as back-ups.
‘We decided to play two goalkeepers so it was not necessary for him (Meslier) to travel,’ said Farke. ‘I wanted to give Lucas Perri the first 45 minutes and Karl (Darlow) is ahead of him (Meslier) in the pecking order.’
On the shirt swap, Farke added: ‘It’s quite normal. We invested – by our standards – a big sum to bring Lucas in. I don’t give any guarantees away about who’s starting but of course Lucas is likely to play a role for us (against Everton) and for that, we decided to give him the number one shirt. It’s not a decision against Illan. It’s also for the confidence of Lucas to make him welcome and show why he signed him.’
