How long that remains the case is yet to be determined. Quizzed on whether Farke has done enough to keep himself in the most demanding of roles, Leeds academy graduate Kilgallon - speaking in association withRight Bet - toldGOAL: “This was sort of spoken about a bit last season as well, especially when they went through like a sticky patch.
“I think there was a run of fixtures where it was going Man City to Liverpool to Chelsea and everyone was going, ‘well, he's going to get sacked now, there's no way, they're on a bad run of form, the chairman is speaking about it, where are they going to pick these points up for him to have a chance of staying in?’ And he went out there, he changed the formation against Man City and they were like a different team.
“I think the chairman and the owners saw that the players were still really playing for him. Sometimes you watch some teams and you think, ‘they've chucked it here, the boys, they don't want this manager in charge’. But there was something, I think it was the game against Chelsea at home at Elland Road where the lads were out there giving it their all for him - obviously to win the game like you always do, but playing for him.
“You can see someone saying, ‘they don't like the manager here, you can smell something, can't you?’ I think he's got the changing room, big style. I think the players really like him. But you only need a few results, don't you? A few don't go your way and you start looking over your shoulder. If you lose two or three in the Premier League now, you're going, ‘I'm in trouble here’. Especially how Leeds United are making the stadium bigger and they're having half a go now.
“But Farke has done absolutely fantastic for me. I think he's been great. Last season, they were a top team. They were in every single game going. I know they were near the bottom and it was probably the last five, six games when they were out of it really, away from relegation. But every game at Elland Road that I saw, they were in every game. They weren't getting battered like West Ham were. Leeds were always, if they did lose, it would be 1-0. They were in all the games.
“So I think Farke's done absolutely brilliantly, I really do. And I think that the owners like him, but you only need three losses and you are looking over your shoulder.”