CARLOS CAN FOLLOW LEED

Corberan bids to copy his ex-boss Bielsa and get Terriers in top flight

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CARLOS CORBERAN was at Marcelo Bielsa’s side when Leeds United returned to the Premier League – and now hopes to repeat the feat with Huddersfield Town.

Corberan was discussed as a potential replacement for the sacked Bielsa, only for the Elland Road hierarchy to go for Jesse Marsch.

And listening to the Argentinian’s former assistant, you sense the exapprentice has learned quickly from the managerial sorcerer.

That is why his Terriers, who finished 20th in the Championship last season, go into the playoffs against Luton Town from a lofty third spot.

Speaking straight out of the Bielsa mantra, Corberan said: “The most important thing in football is the mentality of the players - how much commitment they put onto the football pitch.

“When they have the same level of skills the difference for me is the level of the commitment, not just of the individual, the collective commitment.”

That was evident as an understrength home side made certain Bristol City’s disappointing season ended with a whimper. Corberan added: “The first step of any season is to guarantee Championship football the following season. But from the beginning of this season I was thinking I’ve a good group of players to work with. Some of the players needed time because they arrived from League One.

“But you could see their potential. Some of the younger players began to knock on the door of the first team.

“To have success you have to overcome difficulty and we’ve done that and achieved something very important so far. It’s been a delight to see the development of the team.”

Left wing-back Harry Toffolo opened the scoring with a brilliant jinking run and finish making it five goals in the last seven games, and Danny Ward also on target.

“It was huge to finish the season like that,” said Toffolo. “We’ve picked up 19 points from the last 21, which is phenomenal and probably the best in the division. We now want to carry that momentum into the play-offs.”

For City it is about being involved in the promotion shake-up next season. Danny Ward scrambled in a goal but a run of five games unbeaten came to an end. Boss Nigel Pearson said: “The fans have had an up-and-down season, liking us, disliking us.

“The challenge for us now is to put together a campaign which gives us a chance of getting promoted.

“That may sound like pie in the sky but it doesn’t matter. We need to aim high, there’s no point setting the bar low.”