MARCELO BIELSA: HE’S TRIUMPHED IN EVERY TEAM HE HAS MANAGED - Leedsunited.com 19/11/21

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Head coach looks ahead to Tottenham.

Marcelo Bielsa has spoken with the media at his pre-match press conference, ahead of the Premier League away trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday (16:30).

The Leeds United head coach will be coming up against new Spurs boss Antonio Conte in the first game back after the international break, and is expecting a tough test.

Bielsa began by being asked to give an update on the fitness and availability of players in his squad.

He said: “Patrick Bamford and Luke Ayling are not available for the game on Sunday.

“The evolution is controlled on a daily basis and I wouldn’t want to give a date that won’t be met. When my responses are brief it’s because I can’t offer any certainty so I prefer not to say. 

“Junior Firpo is evolving, he is healthy, all he needs is minutes now.

“Jamie Shackleton is in a similar situation to Firpo, he’s in the process of recovery, but always in that process they need to be match fit to be able to play.

“Robin Koch is further away from returning than Ayling and Bamford.”

On the match itself, the Whites not only have a new manager and new style to contend with, but also an in-form Harry Kane after he scored seven goals in two games over the international break.

“For a goalscorer to score is always good for them,” Bielsa explained.

“But, having said that, with or without the international goals he [Harry Kane] is a player to be respected.

“Antonio Conte is a manager who has a set style of play and that distinguishes from all other managers.

“He’s a genuine representative of his country in terms of managers. He’s triumphed in every team that he has managed, he’s a reference in world football, not only in the league he participates in.

“He’s a coach that gets very high performances from his players. Intensity, a collective sense and teams that attack with a lot of players, but not because of this do they defend with less players.

“That’s a virtue that is very hard to get in a team, the normal thing is those of us that are spectators, we observe the aspects that outshine in the game, those things I’ve just named are very difficult to achieve."

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