"Frankly totally ridiculous" - every word from Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch's pre-Leicester City press conference - YEP 19/10/22

Whites boss Jesse Marsch held his pre-match press conference on Wednesday ahead of Leeds United’s Thursday evening Premier League trip to Leicester City.

By Lee Sobot

Leeds have now gone six games without a win, despite creating a host of chances against league leaders Arsenal on Sunday only to suffer a 1-0 defeat. Leicester drew 0-0 at home to Crystal Palace the previous day and the Foxes now sit bottom of the division following Nottingham Forest’s goalless draw at Brighton on Tuesday evening. Marsch spoke to the media at 2.45pm at Thorp Arch and here is every word that was said by the Whites head coach.

Leicester are set to be without six players with star man James Maddison suspended in addition to Jonny Evans (calf), Caglar Soyuncu (knee), Wilfred Ndidi (hamstring), Ryan Bertrand (knee) and Ricardo Pereira (Achilles) all being injured.

How difficult to coach quick direct football when you win the ball in the final third without rushing the last bit? How do you coach that?

“I spoke with them a couple of weeks ago, and I said, I introduced 13 phrases when when I first came, and they were counter pressing, pressing things like this. One of them is a phrase I use 100-70 which is the ability to still play with tempo and speed but in your head to slow yourself down so that you can see plays clearly ,that you can make attacking plays that you can still play with quality in the last third. I ask them to run so much and to be so intensive, that getting that balance right, we’re still trying to to develop that. However, I thought Arsenal was a fantastic display of our ability to win balls and then create big chances, it just wasn’t enough to finish them off. I’m pleased with a lot of our attacking players and I think in many ways, they’re they’re playing well. It’s just we got to help them now make the last step and in finding more goals. I believe in them though, totally and I know we’ll get there.”

How important is emotional support for the players?

“You know what’s funny is it’s been, I think our last one win was a couple months ago, right? But it doesn’t feel like that. It feels like the work has been really good. It feels like a lot of the performances haven’t been complete but have been solid. I feel like we’re developing and growing. And then it’s just the unforgiveness of what this league is and sometimes doing everything right doesn’t mean you get the result. And I feel like we’re doing a lot of the things right. I feel like the concentration to improve and to be good and to win has been spot on. But the opponents are always also quite good”

On Roca saying Leeds are 100 per cent sure that it’s coming

“I know that with our team, you know. I appreciate that Marc says that and a few of the guys have come out publicly very positive about a lot of things but I know by what I see every day by the work that I see from the group every day that everybody’s fully committed and the belief level is really high. But that’s why the results become important. It’s even less to do with where we are on the table and more just that we need that validation and we need that feeling of knowing that the work that we’re doing is is the right work and it’s going to lead us to where we want to go. I know that, based on my experiences in this business, I know that you can’t focus too much on results, but that results always help bread positivity so that’s where we’re at.”

How encouraged are you by Sunday’s display v Arsenal that you can go to somewhere like Leicester and get a result because you need a win?

“Yeah, that’s how we feel. We feel that we’ve clearly made progress as a group. I’ve said a lot. I have sat here a lot and said we like our team, that we feel we have potential in this group. But it’s been hard for us to pick up the points that often we feel that we’ve deserved. Often it comes in the form of not scoring enough goals which helps you command the game more the way you would want to, not having enough leads. But we have to just stay strong in our belief and in our work and know that with the law of averages or how that if we keep developing in this way, that eventually we’re going to put ourselves in a position to be successful. So it’s hard, like I’ve said a few times, but we have to stay positive and focused on the next match and and make sure that we do everything we can now to fight for every single point.”

That’s all from Jesse

Pascal Struijk injured and Firpo to start is the top news. Big support for Bamford, Rodrigo, Firpo and Ayling too. Gnonto will be part of the squad, and Joffy, and Greenwood. Full transcribe of every word to follow

On Super League plans

“I think this first came up when I was at Salzburg. And I even remember them seeing the players walk out to the match with the T shirts. What did it say? It said fair play or open play is fair play. I can’t remember exactly what the t shirt said. But I thought that was a big statement for Leeds United to have that and I agreed and in Salzburg, I said this and I’ll say it here,no one wants a league that’s not about earning and deserving it and no one wants to see a league that’s just given. I think already in our sport, the world is imbalanced, right? Okay, you can argue clubs like Manchester United and Real Madrid and you can go down the list that over the years they’ve had a built in success and that’s helped them accumulate more and more interest and more and more value and more and more riches. But I’m an American. I come from American sports where parity is is the most important thing to us. At the start of the season, anyone can win. And then I was a coach in the Bundesliga where Bayern Munich had made 30.5 times or spent 30.5 times the amount of Arminia Bielefeld. And it’s a league where when you start you say Bielefeld has zero chance of winning the league and Bayern Munich has 75 per cent of winning the league. That’s not competition to me. And that’s what I want to see is I want to see fairness. I want to see people have to earn whatever they deserve, or deserve whatever they earn, whatever and I think that any idea of the Super League is frankly totally ridiculous. Is that strong enough?!”

On Firpo - what will you get from him longer term? What seeing in him?

“I’ve heard criticisms of Junior from the past or whatever. I can only tell you since I have been here he has in every way tried to adapt and learn and grow into the player that I believe he can be. Because for me his technical ability and passing abilities is one of the best on our team, his athleticism is definitely on the high end of our team, his intelligence is very high and then his tactical is also very keen and I think if he can continue to add the right kind of aggressiveness that he can grow into a real defender and be a real two way player. And those, especially at left back, there’s not a lot of those types of players out there in the world right now. I’m just with specifically with Junior really trying to help him develop into the player that I believe he can come and I believe he can be a big player here. No doubt, he has everything he needs and his commitment to try to do that is that is at a really high level, even in the moment when Pascal has been playing so well and it’s not been easy for him to accept just being on the bench. He’ll be ready for tomorrow, I am sure of it. I am 100 per cent sure of it and I am excited for him to be on the pitch.”

On the league table

“Obviously there is always pressure. There’s a lot of attention that’s paid on this club and this league. And we know the responsibility that we have, I know responsibility I have. Actually, this responsibility to help his team be successful is almost entirely my job and I don’t think of it that way. I think of it as a group project but I don’t want them to feel extra pressure about that we need an absolute result must win moment right now in our lives. It’s more about continue to believe, do the extra little things, put even a little bit more into the preparation into the work, focus a little bit harder, be a little bit smarter, be a little bit clearer and that’s the only way I know how to really get something clicking and moving in the right direction where the momentum then becomes more powerful than the work and that’s ultimately what we’re driving towards and I believe we are really close. We’re on the cusp of that happening. And the goal is for Thursday to be a continuation of that moment.”

How does Luke get back in?

“It’s not really what does he need to do. It’s more just that he needs to be ready. In a person’s career and the way this works is you never know what the next moment is going to look like and you certainly need to be ready to seize that moment at any time. I don’t need to tell Luke that, he’s incredibly experienced and mature with who he is and how he deals with things. From day one I came here him and Coops were always the two most mature, complete, secure, sure leaders that I’ve been around. I don’t know how else to acknowledge how fortunate I am to have him in our group and I still know he has a lot to offer from a playing perspective as well. It’s not just about leadership. It’s about the player he is so he’ll be ready. He’ll be ready when called upon and I’m surel he’ll do great and make a case for himself everyday.”

On Ayling

“My way of working with all the guys is to communicate clearly what the plans are and then and then what the next steps are for them to continue to grow and develop and I think it’s even more important when they’re really important figures in the team. Certainly Luke is that for us. So I just have tried to communicate decisions. I’ve tried to communicate what we need from him, how for him to continue to show to be the example and how to handle difficulty with decision making from from the manager and I think he’s done that really well and continued to be supportive of the group and to be ready to perform. That’s the job. Right? And I think he’s done that at an incredibly high level and he’s going to get more and more playing time I’m sure.”

On Rodrigo

“I just spoke to him and I said the reason I took him out wasn’t because of the mistake, it was because I felt like he was getting a little bit tired and not pressing in certain ways that we wanted and that I felt like bring on fresh legs and that was the plan from the beginning with him and Patrick against Arsenal and it was just when do we do it? And so we decided to do it at half. But I was clear with Rodri that he’s very important, that we need him, that him and Patrick will play together a lot, that we will continue to try to create clarity and roles and help him continue to push and he’s been incredibly important and our most dangerous player. He was good, he said I know and he will be ready. He’s a real pro and he gets it.”

On Bamford - scored arguably best goal of his career at Leicester - do you want him thinking about former times now not think about scoring at all?

“Of course, goalscorers that’s almost all they think about, is scoring goals. And I’m challenging Patrick to continue to grow into the type of striker that we need. And I’ve said for a couple of weeks now that we think he could be part of the solution. And I also said, my experience of being around strikers is if they’re not getting chances, it’s much more concerning than if they’re getting chances and not scoring. He’s getting chances in bunches and his talent is so high that it’s only a matter of time before those start to go his way and when they do then we could start to see a total change in momentum in him and for us. So that’s the goal, is to help him, to challenge him to continue to move forward in a positive way but to support him and let him know that it’s close. We believe that, he believes that and yeah and I think Thursday could be a catalyst for that and for him for the rest of the season.”

On Rodgers - do you have sympathy for him?

“Yeah. Brendan is an experienced manager, I don’t know him that well but we have had enough interaction in different moments. I think he’s a good person. He always seems friendly enough and open enough and generous enough with his time. He’s obviously coached at some big clubs and had big success along the way. I think none of us sleep very well when we’re not performing the way that we want and that’s the misery of this job and the shared misery we have and the respect we have for each other in that way. But I have no doubt that he will be successful in the future just like he has been before.”

Progress so far

“Our last win was a couple of months ago but it doesn’t feel like that. I feel like we have been solid and growing, it’s just how unforgiving this league. I feel we are doing a lot of things right.”

Is this the ideal game to get back to winning ways?

“Yeah, I think the important thing is how to just continue to build and what we don’t want is to have a performance like Arsenal where we feel good about it and came away with nothing and think that that’s enough. It should build hunger in us to go after the next game even more and in the next in the next in the next. So that’s the focus right now, to make sure there’s no satisfied mentality and that right now we’re going to do whatever it takes to play well and to find results.”

What is missing most at the moment?

“Goals! We need two more goals, we need more leads. When we’re on top of matches we need to capitalise. I said that after the match and I think everyone around here knows that that’s where we are right now. If we can start to add that to the mix, then we can have a really good season.”

On Leicester having six players out including Maddison suspended - are they particularly vulnerable now?

“I think they are dangerous. I always find that when when teams are a little desperate for points. Leicester have played better than what their record is. But it means that sometimes it can be hard to predict exactly what their lineup might be, what the tactics might be, and what the performance is so we are expecting their absolute best and we’d be foolish to think anything other than that, and when they are at their best are very good team. So, again, we thinkwe have created a match plan that addresses what we want to be on the day and what we want to look at with what they are and then, again, I want them to go out and play brave and go for it.”

On switching roles Harrison and Aaronson at their recommendation

“This was a discussion during the week and a big tenant of my leadership style is ownership and wanting the players to feel ownership and wanting them to give their opinions. Obviously I have a job to do, to make decisions. But when I when I make decisions that maybe are against the way a player feels or are against him being in the lineup or if they know what the process is and they and they believe in the way that I treat them in the way that I go about making the decisions and then they can even be satisfied and commit to it even if they don’t entirely agree. So when those two come up to me at half time, Brendan came up to me first, I said go speak to Jack. Then Jack and Brendan came to me and half times are pretty quick, you don’t have all day to have discussions, but then I say okay, Jack, what do you think? How do you feel? And he said, yeah, it can be good. And Brennan’s reasoning was yeah, maybe you can be a little bit more one on one situations and I can help press in the middle and close things down and it can be beneficial for both of us in the team. And I said great, let’s do it. And I think then it was one of the things that helped in the second half for us to really start to tilt the table. I think the tempo we played in the first half challenged them. I think that change, and I think Pat coming on the pitch made a big difference in the second half.”

On Firpo - will he start? And what about Gnonto and Joffy as they were not involved last night?

“Junior will start and he will be ready. I think he’s been patiently waiting and also trying to make sure that he’s sharp, fit and strong so that when he gets called upon, he’s ready to go. So I’m excited for him to have his opportunity now and to show that he’s ready. And then yes, Willy will be with us and Joffy and Sam and some of the guys that we have talked about that have done a little bit of double duty will be with us. We knew that we had a three game week so we have use some of those 21s matches to keep them fit and strong and sharp and now we’re going to need them in this week to be ready for us.”

On behaviour in technical area discussion?

“I am glad that I am not in that discussion this time. I don’t think any of us are proud when sometimes we have to be more emotional than we’d like to be and and certainly, I think we all respect referees, and we want to see them treated fairly. I think, I try to do that and I try to have dialogue. I try to support the referees when I think they’ve done a good job, even if I’m critical of them, I try to not make it accusatory and I respect the work that they do and how important they are to the game. Of course, the decisions often dictate the fine line for a club like us of what success and failure is but we have to live with that and accept that and and focus on ourselves and I think that’s the most important thing that a manager can do.”

On Leicester - surprised to see them where they are?

“Yes. They are better than the last placed team in the league for sure. They’re good on the ball. They’re very dangerous in transition moments, they’ve still scored a good number of goals. And then defensively they’ve given away a little bit too much. But I think going there and knowing that they got a positive result and having two matches at home and a chance to gather momentum in their season, we’d be very foolish to not expect them to be ready for a big performance. So we’ve talked about what we want the match to look like, we’ve talked about what to expect and now we got to be able to execute that.”

On players keeping positive

“I think they typically follow the lead of the leader or leaders from the club and in the team. I think in that sense, I have a really good connection with with people like Andrea and Victor and Angus, and also with players like Coops and Luke. And I just try to get their feedback sometimes but also reinforce the appropriate things with the group and also with those two guys and know that they’re really important in terms of how we all react. I can say that those two men are in our group are as strong and committed as ever.”

What can you say to the players after a performance like the Arsenal one but defeat?

“I feel like after a match like that, they feel they deserve more. Obviously we walk away feeling gutted because we feel like we deserve more against such a good team and my nature is to be positive, to look at things carefully and be realistic, but to remain positive. Sometimes you get tested in those ways because you can’t help but feel the emotion of the letdown. But I think that that performance continues to instill belief even though it’s not result based. That’s why in order to really reinforce what’s happening within our team, I think it’s really important that we start finding ways to get more wins.”

Team news - Struijk out

“Adam is coming back from injury but feeling good. Stuart is still injured and Archie Gray. And then Pascal Struijk picked up a little bit of an injury and won’t be available for tomorrow. But we are hopeful that by Sunday he will be available.”