Leeds United: Boss Mac’s forming a winning mentality
YEP 24/10/13
After the impressive display against Birmingham City, the new 3-5-2 formation looks like becoming a permanent fixture. Phil Hay reports.
It was significant on Tuesday afternoon that Leeds United’s Under-21s lined up as their senior counterparts had against Birmingham City on Sunday: three central defenders with wing-backs either side of them and three midfielders behind a front two.
Matching formations provide continuity between the academy and United’s first team and Brian McDermott’s lesson in developing a “winning mentality” was also shared with the club’s younger players after they contrived to draw a game with Sheffield Wednesday which was all but won with 15 minutes to play.
The result spoke for itself and McDermott did not allow a late collapse to go unchallenged but more relevant on Tuesday was the attempt to introduce fringe players to the 3-5-2 system which bamboozled Birmingham. One comprehensive win at Elland Road is all it has taken to convince United’s manager that the set-up can work week after week.
United trialled the formation during the recent international break and ran riot against Birmingham with four unanswered goals. McDermott’s team should remain unchanged at Huddersfield Town on Saturday but Tuesday’s development-squad fixture at Thorp Arch was a chance for Leeds to experiment further.
Aidan White played as a wing-back, creating United’s second goal and hitting the post at the very end of a 3-3 draw. Noel Hunt started up front and scored a hat-trick. Leeds were picked apart late on but the value of the match might be in schooling their wider squad in a strategy which McDermott intends to stick to.
“On Sunday we got far more balls into the box and probably created 10 really good chances,” McDermott said. “In the 20 games I’ve been involved in here, we had more chances in that game than we’ve had for a long time – and we scored four goals.
“That’s what I want my team to be about and that’s what we are about. People say that my teams only play this way or that way but that’s not true. I play whatever way suits the boys and this seems to suit.
“(Paul) Green can play central midfield for us and (Michael) Tonge too. Lee Peltier could play right wing-back and Adam Drury or Aidy White could start on the left if we needed them to. It works.
“The bottom line is that you can’t play in front of teams. You have to get in behind them and some of our balls from the back against Birmingham were excellent – great long passes and then some good, intricate play. That’s what people want to see and that’s how I want us to play.”
McDermott admitted that his shift towards Sunday’s fluid formation had been made possible by Sam Byram’s recovery from a hip injury, a problem which looked for a time like it would lead to surgery.
United resisted that option at the start of August, choosing to restore Byram’s fitness through careful rehabilitation, and the club’s player of the year turned out as a wing-back with obvious freedom during Leeds’ victory over Birmingham.
“At the start of the season I didn’t have Sam so I worked on a formula with the players I had,” McDermott said. “But this system seems to suit someone like Sam because he can get forward. He did that really well on Sunday.”
The key for McDermott is the attitude of United’s players, from top to bottom. Last Friday he and his staff staged a lengthy discussion with his squad, stressing the need for belief and conviction in their performances. Elland Road was devoid of the mentality he spoke of last month and he was less than impressed by Leeds’ Under-21s surrendering a 3-1 advantage at Thorp Arch on Tuesday.
“We were 3-1 up and we got a 3-3 draw,” he said. “This is what I’m talking about – you should win that game and Neil (Redfearn, United’s academy manager) will have spoken to the players about it afterwards.
“When we had our meeting last week, this is what I was trying to say.
“That game against Sheffield Wednesday should have been done and dusted.
“Football isn’t just about going out to play. You have to have a mentality where you’re going to win the game whether you play good, bad or indifferent. The outcome is always the same – you get a result.
“Successful teams do that. I watched Manchester United win the Premier League last season and I’d probably say that they played really well six or seven times. On the other occasions they got results. That’s what the best teams do.
“Burnley are doing it in our league at the moment. They went to Ipswich on Saturday with nothing in the game and they won 1-0. That’s what I call a winning mentality and that’s what I’m trying to create and foster.”
McDermott believes he is being helped in that by the commitment of those around him.
In a week when Leeds suspended winger Ryan Hall for comments made by him on Twitter, McDermott has made a point of talking up the character of others. He went further than that on Sunday by naming Danny Pugh and Michael Brown on his bench – a rare opportunity for two players who have trained quietly without inducement for much of the season.
“What I’d say about Danny Pugh and Michael Brown is that they’ve been nothing less than excellent professionals,” McDermott said. “The way they’ve conducted themselves has been excellent.
“There’s a right way to conduct yourself and the alternative to the right way is the wrong way. That doesn’t work for me and they’re very much part of the squad. Everyone knows they’ve got a chance here I hope but you can only get 18 into your squad.
“It all comes down to having the right attitude and that has to be the way. There’s no negotiation on that.”
After the impressive display against Birmingham City, the new 3-5-2 formation looks like becoming a permanent fixture. Phil Hay reports.
It was significant on Tuesday afternoon that Leeds United’s Under-21s lined up as their senior counterparts had against Birmingham City on Sunday: three central defenders with wing-backs either side of them and three midfielders behind a front two.
Matching formations provide continuity between the academy and United’s first team and Brian McDermott’s lesson in developing a “winning mentality” was also shared with the club’s younger players after they contrived to draw a game with Sheffield Wednesday which was all but won with 15 minutes to play.
The result spoke for itself and McDermott did not allow a late collapse to go unchallenged but more relevant on Tuesday was the attempt to introduce fringe players to the 3-5-2 system which bamboozled Birmingham. One comprehensive win at Elland Road is all it has taken to convince United’s manager that the set-up can work week after week.
United trialled the formation during the recent international break and ran riot against Birmingham with four unanswered goals. McDermott’s team should remain unchanged at Huddersfield Town on Saturday but Tuesday’s development-squad fixture at Thorp Arch was a chance for Leeds to experiment further.
Aidan White played as a wing-back, creating United’s second goal and hitting the post at the very end of a 3-3 draw. Noel Hunt started up front and scored a hat-trick. Leeds were picked apart late on but the value of the match might be in schooling their wider squad in a strategy which McDermott intends to stick to.
“On Sunday we got far more balls into the box and probably created 10 really good chances,” McDermott said. “In the 20 games I’ve been involved in here, we had more chances in that game than we’ve had for a long time – and we scored four goals.
“That’s what I want my team to be about and that’s what we are about. People say that my teams only play this way or that way but that’s not true. I play whatever way suits the boys and this seems to suit.
“(Paul) Green can play central midfield for us and (Michael) Tonge too. Lee Peltier could play right wing-back and Adam Drury or Aidy White could start on the left if we needed them to. It works.
“The bottom line is that you can’t play in front of teams. You have to get in behind them and some of our balls from the back against Birmingham were excellent – great long passes and then some good, intricate play. That’s what people want to see and that’s how I want us to play.”
McDermott admitted that his shift towards Sunday’s fluid formation had been made possible by Sam Byram’s recovery from a hip injury, a problem which looked for a time like it would lead to surgery.
United resisted that option at the start of August, choosing to restore Byram’s fitness through careful rehabilitation, and the club’s player of the year turned out as a wing-back with obvious freedom during Leeds’ victory over Birmingham.
“At the start of the season I didn’t have Sam so I worked on a formula with the players I had,” McDermott said. “But this system seems to suit someone like Sam because he can get forward. He did that really well on Sunday.”
The key for McDermott is the attitude of United’s players, from top to bottom. Last Friday he and his staff staged a lengthy discussion with his squad, stressing the need for belief and conviction in their performances. Elland Road was devoid of the mentality he spoke of last month and he was less than impressed by Leeds’ Under-21s surrendering a 3-1 advantage at Thorp Arch on Tuesday.
“We were 3-1 up and we got a 3-3 draw,” he said. “This is what I’m talking about – you should win that game and Neil (Redfearn, United’s academy manager) will have spoken to the players about it afterwards.
“When we had our meeting last week, this is what I was trying to say.
“That game against Sheffield Wednesday should have been done and dusted.
“Football isn’t just about going out to play. You have to have a mentality where you’re going to win the game whether you play good, bad or indifferent. The outcome is always the same – you get a result.
“Successful teams do that. I watched Manchester United win the Premier League last season and I’d probably say that they played really well six or seven times. On the other occasions they got results. That’s what the best teams do.
“Burnley are doing it in our league at the moment. They went to Ipswich on Saturday with nothing in the game and they won 1-0. That’s what I call a winning mentality and that’s what I’m trying to create and foster.”
McDermott believes he is being helped in that by the commitment of those around him.
In a week when Leeds suspended winger Ryan Hall for comments made by him on Twitter, McDermott has made a point of talking up the character of others. He went further than that on Sunday by naming Danny Pugh and Michael Brown on his bench – a rare opportunity for two players who have trained quietly without inducement for much of the season.
“What I’d say about Danny Pugh and Michael Brown is that they’ve been nothing less than excellent professionals,” McDermott said. “The way they’ve conducted themselves has been excellent.
“There’s a right way to conduct yourself and the alternative to the right way is the wrong way. That doesn’t work for me and they’re very much part of the squad. Everyone knows they’ve got a chance here I hope but you can only get 18 into your squad.
“It all comes down to having the right attitude and that has to be the way. There’s no negotiation on that.”
