BRILLIANT BIELSA HAS MILES LEFT TO RUN WITH WHITES

LEEDS’ Kalvin Phillips has reasons to be grateful for the madness and magic of Marcelo Bielsa. Working under the Argentine at Elland Road has propelled Phillips, 25, into the Premier League and the England team.

So when he was asked for his favourite Bielsa anecdote, he choose his words carefully despite breaking out in a grin that suggested he had enough material to write a book. Phillips said: “There are a few stories about Marcelo, to be fair, but I don’t want to throw him under the bus.

“He used to walk to the training ground from his old house in Wetherby. It’s probably a halfhour walk on a long country road. He had a friend over from Chile called Catchu and Marcelo likes to know how far he is actually walking but he’s not one for technology.

“So he had Catchu following behind him with one of those things that clicks every time you walk a metre.

“They walked all the way from his house to the training ground with this thing clicking. That’s one of the maddest things.

“Even now, Marcelo walks around the training ground. We had a 1,000-metre running track installed a few years ago and does five or 10 laps every day.”

It’s been a tough season so far at Elland Road, with Phillips only just returning to the team after Bielsa (right) refused to rush him back from injury. The midfielder said: “Everyone knows Marcelo by now.

“He’s very stubborn about his ideas and stubborn about how he wants to play – and that’s the reason we’ve done so well in the last three years.

“So for anyone to turn around and say maybe we should try something else is almost like insulting him in a way.

“We’d never do that. The last two performances against Norwich and Leicester felt like we are getting back up there.

“It was difficult for me to watch but I was nursing an injury.

“It is always the manager’s decision and I fully respect that but it is good to give the fans something to look forward to.”