BAM: BIELSA WON’T TAKE ANY CREDIT

PATRICK BAMFORD claims it is difficult getting Marcelo Bielsa to acknowledge the impact he has had at Leeds.

Bielsa (above) has transformed Leeds in just under three years from a mid-table Championship side to one challenging for a top-half finish in the Premier League.

Bamford (below) was one of Bielsa’s first signings when he took over in June 2018 and says it is easy to see the change he has engineered.

But the striker says it is much harder persuading the humble Bielsa to take any of the credit.

“He’s a very intelligent man, so I’m sure he knows the impact he’s had,” he said.

“I think he’s the kind of person that if you said to him ‘you’ve changed this club so much, thank you’, he’d be adamant it’s not him.

“He would say it’s everyone else apart from him who’s done this. Realistically, Andrea Radrizzani is the one who has appointed him and put a load of money into the club to be in a position to get Marcelo.

I think Marcelo is the one who has changed the ethos of the club, the way we play, everything around the club, day-to-day, and so for me he’s the one who’s made the biggest change.

“Getting him to accept it would be difficult.”

Leeds are 11th and Bamford, who has bagged 14 goals, claims a top-half finish should be “a minimum” in their first season back in the top flight after 16 years.

“If we got a bit more consistent, I think the top 10 should be a minimum. The way we play, if we shore up a little bit and get some consistency, then there’s no reason why not.”

Leeds’ biggest weakness has been their defending. They have conceded 47 goals in their 29 league games.

Bamford added: “The reason why the defence sometimes gets opened up is because of the way we play at the top of the field.

“If we’re late to a press or not quite on it or not aggressive enough, it puts everyone out of time and out of position. That’s when you see teams cut through us sometimes.”