Daniel Farke has addressed the media ahead of the Premier League clash between Leeds and Brighton on Saturday.
The German can become the first Leeds boss to defeat Brighton in the Premier League if he achieves victory at the Amex Stadium, and has a strong chance of doing so after a solid start to the season.
No promoted side across the last decade has suffered relegation after accumulating 11 points from the first nine Premier League games.
When told about this, a dismissive Daniel Farke laughed the statistic off, using an example from May 2024 to show why Leeds cannot afford to relax.
Daniel Farke still in disbelief Leeds failed to go up automatically in the 2023/24 campaign
Discussing why his Leeds side must stay focused, the 49-year-old said: “We are on a good path, but it’s also not a guarantee. If we stopped winning points, 11 points won’t be enough!
“We have to make sure, in the end we need probably nine wins, perhaps even ten. To already be on three and a few draws, it’s good but we have to keep going. In the past (laughs) we were also the first team to not win automatic promotion with 90 points – I’ve never experienced in my life here with Leeds United that we would do anything easy.”
Daniel Farke is not relying on statistics for survival in the Premier League.
Promoted sides tend to stay up with 11 points after 9 matches…. but the Leeds United boss is not resting on his laurels.#LUFC | #BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/7xaPVClDbe
— BBC Sport West Yorkshire (@BBCWYS) October 30, 2025
View Tweet
MORE LEEDS UNITED STORIES
Farke – who the 49ers are happy with – is spot on.
It has been an impressive start to the season, but it is only a start and nothing more – there are still 29 Premier League games and 87 points to play for, so nobody at Leeds can afford to rest on their laurels.
West Ham, Sunderland and Bolton are proof that Leeds must not stop pushing until the very end
Typically, achieving 40 points in a 38-game Premier League season is described as the “magic number” for those in a relegation battle.
However, West Ham, Sunderland and Bolton have still actually suffered relegation despite hitting that figure.
West Ham went down despite accumulating a massive 42 points in the 2002/03 season, whereas Sunderland and Bolton were relegated in the 1996/97 and 1997/98 campaigns respectively despite reaching 40 points.
So, despite a positive start for Leeds, history proves there is little margin to relax.