'Underdog' Jesse Marsch spells out Leeds United goal and challenges Whites after huge wins - YEP 20/3/22
Jesse Marsch has challenged Leeds United to do more than just survive this season.
By Graham Smyth
The first three weeks of the American's time in charge at
Elland Road has brought a pair of defeats but two hugely significant victories.
What's more, Leeds' performance in their narrow loss at
Leicester, along with the fight and character they showed to beat Norwich City
and come back from two goals down to defeat European hopefuls Wolves, has given
them momentum ahead of the final eight games.
The 3-2 comeback at Molineux created a seven-point gap
between Leeds and 18th-placed Watford.
Speaking ahead of the international break, Marsch reaffirmed
his belief that he's in the right job, regardless of the difficulty Leeds were
in when he arrived. Despite the wins and the breathing space they have given
themselves, with a small squad continuing to creak under the weight of injuries
and uncertainty lingering over the fitness of key players, Marsch knows they
remain in a scrap for their Premier League lives.
"I like being the underdog," he said.
"I like having to fight for things. I like not taking
anything for granted. I like having my back against the wall. I don't know why.
It's easier to be the other way around I think but, that I identify with. I
tried to say that without being condescending in my first press conference that
where I'm from, I should never be here. I'm not afraid of it. I want to be
here, I believe it's the right place for me. And I'm finding that out more and
more every day. So I'm really again thankful for the opportunity to be attached
to this club."
What gives the 48-year-old confidence is the group he has
inherited and the culture he walked into at Thorp Arch.
"I heard from Victor and from Angus before I came about
how good the young men are and not just that, how incredibly selfless the
workers around the team are in the training centre and inside the club,"
he said.
"From the first day, I could feel the positive energy.
The mentality of the group is really strong, really strong with everything that
they've been through this year, it's amazing. So we have more work to do. We
have to enjoy moments like this [the Wolves win]. I learned this in football if
you're only focused on every result, you have to enjoy moments. So we tried to
enjoy the last result, we'll enjoy this one, but then we'll get back to work
and we'll try to get better so that we can continue to control our own
destiny."
Late winners in each of their last two games have brought an
incredible chaotic feel to what was already an eventful, dramatic and stressful
season and as Everton's 10-man win over Newcastle United proved, there are sure
to be more twists in the Premier League relegation battle. Marsch says Leeds
must keep their heads and focus on what's important - themselves - but he
doesn't want them to just scrape by.
"I just want us to stay true and stay calm to our
process to push ourselves every day, to growing to getting better, to finding a
way to control what we can control," he said.
"And if we do that, I believe we have the quality of
people and of players that we can control our own destiny and find a way to not
just - and this is another thing I've challenged them to do - not just survive
the situation but thrive in it. Thrive in it. That's the goal."
