Marcelo Bielsa hangover is proving 'challenging' for Leeds United players, claims Jesse Marsch - YEP 12/4/22
Getting Leeds United players to forget the instincts encouraged by former manager Marcelo Bielsa is no mean feat, says Jesse Marsch.
By Flora Snelson
The American has done a fine job of steadying a ship which
was in crisis when he was appointed to take over from Bielsa in February.
Following a string of six losses on the bounce, Leeds made
it four games without defeat when they sealed a crucial 3-0 victory over
relegation rivals Watford on Saturday.
After the poor form that led to Bielsa's dismissal left them
just two points clear of safety, United now sit a much more comfortable nine
points ahead of the drop zone.
Despite the uplift in results, it has not been plain sailing
at Thorp Arch as some of the former coach's well-drilled principles are proving
difficult to unlearn.
"Marcelo had such strong man-to-man demands and trying
to rip apart three-and-a-half years of work structured exactly to do that, to
now transitioning into what I want to do moving forward has been challenging
for the players to adapt to," Marsch said.
"They have worked really hard at it but they still fall
into old habits, especially when they are fatigued on the pitch. It's normal,
right?
"I'm going to tell them a story today that I was
watching a video on the bus ride back and I was frustrated about some of the
things that were still not right. But then when I got off the bus, I went to go
and get in my car and I got in on the wrong side because I am still used to
driving on the right hand side of the road."
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The extended absence of several key players to injury - with
Patrick Bamford, Kalvin Phillips, and Liam Cooper all missing more than a third
of the Premier League season - has played a huge role in the Whites' struggling
progress after a stellar maiden season in the top flight last term.
Marsch suggested that his team selection is still suffering
from his predecessor's demands.
"The injury issues had a lot to do with the training
methodologies, the players were over-trained," Marsch told talkSport.
"That led them to being physically, mentally,
psychologically and emotionally in a difficult place to recover from
week-to-week and game-to-game.
"I have a very specific methodology in the way I work
and I've had a reputation for having high running data in the way we play, but
also having healthy, fit and strong players so we can meet the demands we
want."
Bamford returned from a lengthy lay-off to feature in games
against Aston Villa, Norwich City, and Wolves, before making a tearful exit at
Molineux as a plantar fascia rupture condemned him to a further six weeks on
the sidelines.
Whites boss Marsch feels guilty for the striker's
predicament but says the squad are moving in the right direction injury-wise.
"The one with Patrick I felt terrible about because the
responsibility of a coach to take care of players and to make sure you're not
injuring them and putting them in harm's way," Marsch said.
"In the end, it didn't go the way I wanted with Patrick
and I always feel like it is my responsibility to get that right.
"But for the most part, we are getting healthy and
strong with almost the entire group."
