Jesse Marsch believes FA Cup run could give Leeds much-needed momentum - Independent 7/1/23
Marsch is hoping to steer Leeds into the fourth round of the FA Cup for the first time in six seasons
Mark Walker
Leeds boss Jesse Marsch will not let his heart rule his head
when he takes charge of his first FA Cup tie on Sunday at Cardiff.
Marsch’s main objective is to retain Leeds’ Premier League
status, but the romance of world football’s oldest knockout competition is not
completely lost on the 49-year-old American.
When asked if he had dreamt of lifting the famous trophy
with Leeds, Marsch said: “Talking about raising trophies right now – we’re not
at that stage as a club, but you don’t do this without that kind of focus in
mind.
“We’re continuing to try to build a process here that’s
about improvement, week by week, year by year.
“But, you know, even seeing what Crystal Palace did last
year (they reached the semi-finals), I think for people it’s still a reminder
that the possibilities are there, but you have to just take it one step at a
time.”
Leeds have a poor recent FA Cup record having fallen at the
first hurdle in each of the last five seasons.
They have also been dumped out of the competition by the
likes of Hereford (2007), Histon (2008), Rochdale (2014), Sutton (2017),
Newport (2018) and Crawley (2021).
And since falling victim to another famous cup upset against
Sunday’s opponents in 2002 – when Cardiff were in the third tier and Leeds top
of the old Premiership – the Yorkshire club have gone beyond the fourth round
on just three occasions.
Leeds’ board are desperate for an extended and long-overdue
run in the competition and if the Premier League remains Marsch’s priority, he
insisted he has targeted victory in Cardiff and will name his side accordingly.
The former Salzburg and Leipzig head coach, whose side
resume league duties at Aston Villa next Friday, added: “We believe that a cup
run can give us momentum.
“The strategy for this match is certainly, with enough break
in between (the next league game), to get as many guys prepared to play as
possible and then to make sure we have a team that will go after it in every
way.”
Leeds could hand a debut to new signing Max Wober, who has
followed Marsch and former Salzburg team-mates Brenden Aaronson and Rasmus
Kristensen to Elland Road.
Wober, who was captain of the Austrian club, signed on
Tuesday for a reported fee in the region of £10-12million and can operate in a
variety of left-sided defensive positions.
Patrick Bamford is closing in on his first appearance since
October after having groin surgery during the World Cup break but is unlikely
to feature, while Adam Forshaw (hip) and Luis Sinisterra (foot) are still
unavailable.