Bielsa has it small to do

MARCELO BIELSA likes to work with a small band of committed, quality players.

Last season that was a help. A band of 18 hungry and largely-fit top stars, very little loss of form or fitness, and a team with continuity and confidence.

But given the crisis in injury and form Leeds have suffered this term, Bielsa’s reliance on an elite few, rather than expanding his pool with expensive and speculative new faces, could prove as much a hindrance as the policy was a help last season.

Patrick Bamford, Kalvin Phillips and Luke Ayling were missing from yesterday’s clash with Wolves. Robin Koch is out for another month. Raphinha and Junior Firpo have also been out recently.

They still have enough talent to eke out results and avoid a prolonged relegation scare.

But they might not end up being as exciting or as high up the Premier League as their first campaign back among the elite.

The lack of squad depth is a choice of Bielsa (above), not the Leeds board, who have questioned that preference but not overruled their football guru.

Perhaps the intense physical demands of Bielsa-ball, the training, the pressing, the counter-attacking the energy, is at last taking a toll?

Bielsa explained: “A Premier League player is a very expensive player and not every team can have 25 players who can be starters so I prefer to have less players but of a higher level.”

Maybe January is time for the Leeds directors to nudge Bielsa into expanding what is the league’s smallest squad of senior players.

It’s unusually a poor time to buy. Bielsa may see it another way. Missing five players… bring in youngsters from his squad, and if they step up to the plate, then it’s another sort of coaching triumph.