Jesse Marsch reveals leaders and lays down challenge for Kalvin Phillips - YEP 4/3/22
Leeds United head coach Jesse Marsch plans to challenge Kalvin Phillips to take on a greater leadership role at the club.
By Graham Smyth
Appointed on Monday as Marcelo Bielsa’s replacement, Marsch
has spent his first few days getting to know players he had already been
tracking in advance of what was initially planned to be a summer succession.
Marsch has had a couple of days in which to work with the
team and introduce his style of play.
He has praised the squad for the speed of their adaptation
and their attentiveness and energy during training sessions and team meetings,
although concedes the most important thing is to show it all in games, starting
at Leicester City today.
The American will be aided in his attempt to steer the
Whites away from the relegation zone by a strong leadership group in the
dressing room, men who helped change the culture among the playing staff at
Leeds and underpinned the Premier League promotion drive.
“There has been a bunch of great young men, speaking with
Liam Cooper and Luke Ayling, it’s easy to see that they are comfortable in
front of the group, that they are comfortable in leadership roles,” said
Marsch.
“I think Adam Forshaw has also been fantastic, there is a
guy like Patrick Bamford that has a lot of personality. Stuart Dallas, for me,
is one of the hardest workers and strongest young men who is clear with himself
and clear with how to work for a team every day.”
Marsch added to that group Rodrigo, a 30-year-old who has
had more top-flight, international and European experience than anyone else in
the Leeds side. The head coach also likes what he sees in the youngsters coming
through the ranks.
“Rodrigo is an intelligent young man who wants to help in
every way and then there is a lot of positive energy in a lot of the young guys
and a lot of what I have done in my managerial career is about managing young
players and helping them achieve their highest potential so I have excitement
in this group and excitement to be here,” he said.
One player he wants to see taking on more responsibility
when it comes to leadership is the soon-to-return Phillips.
Leeds’ England international is back on the grass and
stepping up his recovery from a hamstring operation. He’s had minor, expected,
set-backs along the way but Leeds are anticipating his return in the next
couple of weeks.
Phillips has, in the past, admitted that he’s not among the
most vocal members of the team although he has led by example with his
performances since Bielsa transformed him from a box-to-box player into a
holding midfielder.
His dominance in the Championship was sufficient to attract
Gareth Southgate’s interest and once Phillips broke into the Three Lions side
he was rarely out of it last season, playing almost all of their Euro 2020
campaign en route to the final.
Marsch sees the defensive midfielder as integral to his
plans at Thorp Arch and wants him to be a central figure.
“I want to challenge Kalvin Phillips to take a bigger role
within the team and he is obviously so important, getting him healthy but also
getting him to take a bigger role in the team will I think be massively
important as well,” said the new head coach.
