Charlie Austin slams Leeds United man for QPR show with Whites declaration on play-offs

Austin oversaw Friday night’s clash between the Hoops and Whites at Loftus Road for coverage on Sky Sports and watched his former team deal a hammer blow to United’s promotion prospects by recording a 4-0 victory.

The defeat left Leeds just one point ahead of third-placed Ipswich Town in the Championship’s second automatic promotion place but the Tractor Boys now have two games in hand in which Austin expects them to kick-on and consign Daniel Farke’s Whites to the play-offs at the “wrong time” given the team’s current form.

Farke already has two Championship promotions on his CV as champions with Norwich City but Austin has questioned whether the inexperience of some of United’s younger players is proving telling in the final run-in. The ex-Rs striker also expressed his disappointment with the display of Whites star Crysencio Summerville at Loftus Road, declaring his view that the Championship’s player of the year “set the tone” in the warm up.

Asked about Farke knowing how to get teams promoted, Austin replied: “He does. But do the players? Yes, some do but some don't. You talk about experience, he has a young team. I'm not sure. They lost tonight, conceded four.

"It was three the other night against Middlesbrough. They play Southampton next week but Southampton realise that they are in the play-offs.

"Leeds are probably going to be in there because Ipswich are going to go on now. It's the wrong time for me but you need the big players to step up. Like I said at the start, Summerville needs to step up. He was the Championship player of the year, tonight it was like he wasn't out there.

"I think he set the tone when I saw him in the warm up with a snood and that, covered, covering himself. I thought he set the tone for me tonight and that went on to the pitch for me."