"Like a bottle of ketchup" - Daniel Farke drops claim on Spurs loanee Manor Solomon's Leeds United situation | OneFootball

The Israeli winger wasn't able to have any effect against Bristol City.

Leeds United boss Daniel Farke believes that Tottenham Hotspur loanee Manor Solomon needs to relax a bit on the pitch in order to refind the form he had prior to his hamstring injury.

Saturday was a frustrating day for Leeds. They travelled to an emotional Ashton Gate to face Bristol City, who were welcoming back their boss Liam Manning after he took a leave of absence from the club following the passing of his young son, Theo.

The Robins were able to hold off the visitors, with the game ending 0-0, and earned a strong point for their boss, while his opposite number was left feeling irked by his side's inability to find the back of the net.

A number of players can take responsibility for Leeds' inability to score on Saturday. Dan James and Wilfried Gnonto both had good chances to score but failed to do so, as did substitute Mateo Joseph.

The Spanish forward wasn't the only man brought on with the hope that they could change the game. Patrick Bamford and Solomon were also introduced later on in the game, but the Whites still couldn't find a breakthrough, with the Israeli international looking particularly off it.

Daniel Farke's Manor Solomon claim

In the wake of the game, Farke said that he wants Solomon to relax when he goes on the pitch, and claimed that he can sometimes try to do too much in his pursuit to help the team rather than doing the simple things.

The German used a condiment-based analogy to summarise his thoughts on the Spurs loanee's substitute display on Saturday. "Sometimes like a bottle of ketchup, you shake it and you want it too much and all of a sudden it happens," said Farke, via Leeds Live.

"When he first came he played with so much confidence, rhythm and so much confidence, then the injury stopped him from going on international duty and he has to do his rehab.

"Such a proud player to play for his national team, it was a sucker punch for him. He worked so hard to come back and the feeling is of course he can't be there with 100 per cent, he needs a bit of time.

"He works so hard in training and he always adds some additional stuff in training and in the game. He wants it so much. So sometimes you want him to relax a bit. Play a bit less complicated and it will come.

"We're fully convinced of his quality. Out of good intention he forces it a bit too much. You don’t have to prove what a good player you are, do what you've done your whole career and your quality will shine.

"I'm pretty sure it will happen soon. Keep in mind a bottle of ketchup."

Leeds need Manor Solomon to rediscover his old self

Hamstring injuries are often the most hampering injuries, long-term, in football. You just can't quite open up your legs and be fully mobile when you have a problem there. So, even though he is now fit again after recovering from that type of knock, this could explain why he hasn't hit the ground running again straight away.

Of course the Whites will need to be patient with him, as Farke alluded to, but with Largie Ramazani confirmed to be out for four to six weeks with an ankle injury, Leeds need to get Solomon back to his pre-injury self pretty quickly.

With the Belgian out for an extended period, the depth that Farke has to work with in wide attacking areas has been fairly significantly reduced. He's now without 25% of his potential starting options in this area of the pitch, while 50% of them (James and Solomon) are only just returning from absences due to fitness issues.

A fit and firing Solomon will continue to propel Leeds towards their ultimate promotion goal. A misfiring one could allow an early dent to be put into their top-two hopes.