Jesse Marsch backing himself to get the best out of struggling Brazilian winger Raphinha and save Leeds from relegation - Mail Online 13/3/22
Jesse Marsch backing himself to get the best out of struggling Brazilian winger Raphinha and save Leeds from relegation... as he prepares his side for must-win clash against Norwich
Raphinha has scored just once in his last 11 games for
struggling Leeds
New boss Jesse Marsch has backed himself to get the best out
of the Brazilian
The American hopes to get his first win for Leeds against
Norwich on Sunday
By JOE BERNSTEIN
Jesse Marsch is backing his development skills to get the
best out of Raphinha and save Leeds from relegation.
The talented Brazilian has scored only once in 11 games
coinciding with United’s slide towards relegation trouble and the sacking of
Marcelo Bielsa.
American Marsch needs a result against fellow strugglers
Norwich on Sunday having lost his first two games in charge but has a track
record of helping attacking players.
At New York Red Bulls he mentored Tyler Adams who is now a
Bundesliga star at Leipzig and at RV Salzburg, Marsch managed Patson Daka,
Enock Mwepu and Hwang Hee-Chan – all of whom subsequently moved to the Premier
League.
‘Raphinha is clearly a special player,’ acknowledged Marsch.
‘I like his talent and I have had a lot of success working with young talented
attacking players.
‘I’ll keep working with him to help him understand how he
can fit into what we’re doing. The team is always the most important, but with
every individual you have to get to know what makes them tick, how they respond
to good and bad things, and get to the core of it.
‘I have had some good interaction and conversations with
them. His role has changed a bit in terms of tactically what I want him to do
on the pitch, but he’s responded really well.
‘He’s another guy who wants it so bad. He tries everything
he can but what happens with all of them is it becomes individual instead of it
being the collective and how it all fits together.’
Leeds have lost six matches in a row, failing to score in
their last four, and their fans are aware the last time they were relegated
from the Premier League, it took them 16 years to get back.
As the biggest one-club city in England, representing a
population of 800,000, the partisan support should be an advantage. However
supporters chanted Bielsa’s name during Thursday’s 3-0 home defeat against
Aston Villa and Marsch knows he needs results to alter the mood.
‘I have learned in this business not to take anything
personally,’ said the 48-year-old American.
‘I am tasked with a job to do. I understand part of it is
managing fans and their opinions but the best way is to make the team perform
in the ways that I know they can.
‘When I’ve interacted with fans, I have the found the people
here kind and warm. That can change if the team doesn’t perform. I am very
aware of that, and I am okay with that.
