Leeds boss believes Ole has coped well with ‘big pressures’
MARCELO Bielsa says Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has done well to deal with the pressure of managing United.
United renew Premier League acquaintances with Leeds United today after Bielsa led them back to the top flight last season.
Bielsa’s unique style of football has caught plenty of attention since Leeds’ return to the top flight and this afternoon’s game is set to be an eagerly-anticipated clash.
Speaking to Leeds Live about his opposite number at Old Trafford, Bielsa feels Solskjaer is doing well to deal with the pressure that comes with such a big job.
He said: “We are all over-observed and this is a situation where no coach is exempt. It increases or decreases depending on the success the team has. It’s part of the job.
“Of course, Solskjaer has dealt very well with this aspect we have just spoken about.”
Bielsa believes Solskjaer will benefit from a certain amount of leeway at United thanks to previously being a player at the club.
By contrast, Bielsa had a fairly unremarkable playing career, and the Argentine feels this can make a difference when coming to a club.
He said: “It’s not exactly the same. Solskjaer was a reference for Manchester United. I played two games in the top division.
“Normally, when a player has played for a long time in a team they have the affection of the fans and when they become a manager they have more of their support.”
This will not be the first time Bielsa has faced a United side in his managerial career.
In 2012, his Athletic Bilbao side stunned the Reds to knock them out of the Europa League 5-3 on aggregate, and Bielsa says he was humbled by Sir Alex Ferguson’s reaction to the game.
He explained: “I have noted down
a memory with respect to that game against Man United. Anything I say about Ferguson is just to confirm everything he has already done.
“Of course, what Ferguson means to all his colleagues. I have noted anyone in the presence of Ferguson is like receiving a medal.
“In relation to the game we played, he had a praise I never forgot. He said he wasn’t surprised Athletic had won, that it was within what was possible and he also wasn’t surprised how much the team had run to be on equal terms with them.
“What did surprise him was on the day of the game, in the morning, my team had trained an hour-and-a-half on the morning of that game. I never forgot that comment from him.”
He continued: “There’s sometimes training on the day of the game is an exaggeration, for some. There is something that justifies training on the day of the game.
“Of course, the training consumes some energy necessary in the night.
“They permit you to run less in the game because you are running in the correct manner. It’s difficult to explain a training necessary on the day of the game, but the justification was it was needed for the team to run in a co-ordinated manner and, therefore, less.
“As we know, any explanation of this needs to be validated by a win.”