Ipswich Town defender Harry Clarke wasted no time sticking the boot in on Leeds United following their Championship playoff final defeat to Southampton.
The Whites missed the chance for an immediate return to the Premier League, going down 1-0 at Wembley on Sunday afternoon thanks to a goal from Adam Armstrong.
Leeds were forced to run the playoff gauntlet after finishing third behind both Leicester City and Ipswich in the automatic promotion spots. That’s despite occupying a place in the top two for long periods of the season and even briefly topping the table in March.
Ipswich defender Clarke — who recently underwent Achilles surgery — quickly took to social media to share a video of him mocking Leeds United during the celebrations of the Tractor Boys’ promotion to the Premier League.
The video was posted on X (formerly Twitter) by an Ipswich fan, with Clarke adding the caption: “Don’t say it, don’t say it, don’t say it.”
Daniel Farke hopes playoff defeat can ‘motivate’ Leeds
Sunday’s defeat only serves to continue Leeds’ terrible record in the EFL Playoffs, with the Whites now losing all six of their attempts to be promoted this way.
However, manager Daniel Farke is remaining defiant, hoping that players and supporters can quickly pick themselves up for another push at promotion next season.
“It was a difficult day for us and a day of suffering but that’s football,” said the German (via Sky Sports). “You have to get on with it, rest and use the disappointment as motivation for next season.”
Farke later added in his press conference: “You learn a lot from setbacks, especially as we’re a young side. We’re developing our personality and there’s no reason to dwell on this as the lads played a fantastic season.
“We collected 90 points and I was proud of us in many ways again today. We could have been more effective in the final third today but we won’t dwell on this. We’ll suffer for a few days and then we’ll recover and go again.”