'I didn't want to come' - Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch outlines silver lining of sudden Elland Road invitation - YEP 26/5/22
Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch hopes to take full advantage of the benefits his unexpected February arrival has given him.
By Flora Snelson
As first days at work go, Marsch's arrival at Elland Road
was up there with the most challenging - from the relative comfort of life
out-of-contract, the American was suddenly required to convince a
grief-stricken fanbase that he could whip a group of shell-shocked players into
good-enough shape to come out of a relegation battle unscathed.
Though Marsch was a likely summer successor, the landscape
of the club when he was drafted in as a matter of urgency following Marcelo
Bielsa's sacking in February was entirely different from the one he might have
imagined walking into at the conclusion of the 2021/2022 season.
Leeds were clinging to a narrow two-point cushion above the
drop zone, and the five calamitous matches which forced Bielsa's departure had
shrunk the Whites' goal difference from -11 to -31. Below them, relegation
rivals Burnley and Everton had games in hand and in order to go toe-to-toe with
them, Marsch was resourced with an injury-plagued squad, many of them
unwittingly carrying the Argentine's legacy in their on-pitch habits.
It was a job that even the most seasoned football manager
would have had to think twice about, and Marsch, with no prior experience of a
relegation battle, was unsure about assuming the role of United's lifeline.
"I knew there was an opportunity when Victor [Orta,
director of football] asked me to come at a time that I, frankly, didn't want
to come," Marsch said after Leeds secured their Premier League status at
Brentford."
"From the beginning, when Victor asked me to come - at
first I was like ‘no’. Then I thought about it for 24 hours and it was an
opportunity."
Three months later, Marsch has succeeded in guiding the
Whites to safety - and now, he says there's a clear advantage to his pre-mature
employment.
"My focus was to keep us up," Marsch said,
"but it’s been a very important three months for me and my connection to
the future of this club.
"I know the players more, I know the club more, I know
the people that work within the club, I know the fans, I know the community,
I’m much more aware of exactly what we are and where I want to take it.
"We've already had some discussion about what we're
looking forward to but, for sure, we can't waste any time.
"We have to use this momentum in all the right ways and
the benefit of me coming here three months early is that I've really got my
hands dirty.
"I understand much more clearly - than I ever could
have had I not come now, or before - the vision of how to move forward."
