Leeds: Marathe reveals Premier League plan as Farke stay confirmed – ‘We are going to build the best squad’

Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe made a major financial promise to fans over the weekend as he confirmed he is “very excited” to attack the Premier League with Daniel Farke as manager.

Speaking publicly for the first time since promotion was secured, Marathe said Farke had his full backing and insisted the club had never wavered in their commitment to the manager.

“My plan was always to come and speak to you all right after the season concluded, and so that time is now,” he said. “I want to tell you all that I’m very excited to run it back with Daniel.”

Marathe also mentioned internal promotions for Robbie Evans as managing director and Adam Underwood as sporting director, with the trio now tasked with preparing a squad capable of surviving and thriving in the top flight.

“Together, we are going to build the best squad that we can with every penny that we’re allowed to spend to go and compete in the Premier League,” he said.

Marathe didn’t name names, but did address speculation in recent weeks about Farke’s position, saying it was always the club’s intention to wait until the end of the season to speak publicly.

“I do want to say I feel bad about the last couple weeks of all that speculation,” he said.

“I felt bad that Daniel and the coaches probably felt they were twisting in the wind a little bit. I tried to do what I could privately.

“It just felt like to me, I’m going to speak when I have something to say and when the time is right. It’s unfortunate that somebody else tried to speculate something a week or two ago, because today was always the moment I was going to speak.”

Asked about the challenge ahead, Marathe acknowledged the difficulties newly-promoted clubs have faced but said Leeds have something others don’t.

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“I’m under no illusions that it’s going to be easy. I know all the stats. Last season’s three promoted clubs went right back down. Two years ago, three promoted clubs went right back down. But we have something that they don’t.

“We have Daniel Farke, first of all, and a tremendous coaching staff.

“We have players that believe that the sum of the parts are greater than the individual pieces. We have a community that supports our club. We have a 28,000-person paid season ticket waiting list – 28,000 is more than many Premier League clubs’ actual season ticket list.”

Marathe also highlighted Leeds’ growing commercial strength, including a new front-of-shirt deal with Red Bull.

“There’s an opportunity for us to take all of that extra revenue, and literally all of that extra revenue, and pour it right back onto the pitch,” he said.

As for Farke, Marathe praised the calmness and conviction the manager showed even in the most intense moments of the season.

“He is such a calming force. Presence would be an understatement. He told you all he was 100 per cent confident that we’re going to the Prem, and he believed it. I love him for it. He has that conviction and belief.

“We continue to stay in touch all the time. I did tell him privately that I’m looking forward to moving forward together, and I just didn’t feel like it was my time to speak, just because someone wanted to put out a rumour or whatever. It wasn’t my place in time to speak at that point. But I did talk to him privately.”