Troy Deeney ripped into Leeds United players following their disappointing 1-0 defeat to Southampton in the Championship play-off final on Sunday.
The Whites headed confidently to the Wembley Stadium clash after cruising past Norwich City with a 4-0 aggregate victory in the semi-final.
But they were stunned by the Saints who took the lead in the 24th minute through Adam Armstrong’s clinical finish.
The Yorkshire outfit pushed for an equaliser and would have restored parity if Crysensio Summerville and Wilfried Gnonto hadn’t missed their chances.
Daniel James’ powerful effort beat the goalkeeper late in the game, but it came back off the crossbar.
Former Championship striker Troy Deeney was unhappy with Leeds’ performance and questioned the desire of several players.
Speaking on Sky Sports after the game, Deeney said: “There was a moment in the game today where one of their players, who should have been in the box, was the second furthest man back.
“In the 97th minute – when you’re trying to win. Now that says to me that you don’t want the pressure of ‘this chance could fall to me’.
“The responsibility. Because, if you miss, then people are going to question you. But if you don’t do anything then people in the game, like us, we question you. And I just question where some of these were at.
“It felt like, for three or four of those players, this game was for them. And it was like, ‘I’m probably not going to be here next year, so let me show how good I am’.”
Leeds were in an excellent position at the start of April to seal Premier League promotion as they were unbeaten in their previous 15 Championship matches.
But they suffered damaging defeats against Coventry City and Blackburn Rovers, which ultimately helped Leicester City and Ipswich Town win the two automatic spots.
Daniel Farke’s side were on the top of their game in the Championship play-off semi-final against Norwich, leading SportsView to back the Yorkshire side for victory.
However, they were outplayed by Southampton who defended brilliantly after scoring to make an immediate return to the English top-flight.
