BIG RESULT FOR LEEDS
BOSS BIELSA’S FUTURE AT ELLAND ROAD SETTLED BEFORE NEW SEASON KICKS OFF
MARCELO BIELSA has signed a new one-year contract to remain in charge of Leeds, two days before they open the Premier League season away to Manchester United.
The Leeds boss prefers one-year deals and only signed his previous contract on the eve of last season’s curtain-raiser so there has been little concern about his situation.
But it was not until a press conference yesterday the 66-year-old publicly made his position known.
‘The contract situation is one that is already resolved,’ the Argentinian said ‘One year is habitual.’
The club’s chief executive Angus Kinnear has claimed Bielsa’s willingness to let his contract situation rumble on is due to his ‘lack of interest in it’ as he focuses on preparing his team.
Speaking after Bielsa, defender Robin Koch welcomed the news but indicated it had never been a concern for the players. ‘Of course we are happy he’s here for another season,’ the Germany international said.
‘I didn’t think he would leave, it’s nothing surprising for me, but of course we are happy.’
Seeing out a fourth season will mean
Bielsa will have been in charge of Leeds for longer than any other club in his career, bar his decade-long stay with Newell’s Old Boys’ youth side before stepping up to the senior role.
But asked if that indicated a special bond, Bielsa demurred, warning he risked playing to the crowd with his response. ‘The answer I would like to give is when I no longer work here.
‘Being inside the institution you run the risk that your answer is seen as demagoguery and a way of capturing the sympathy of the fans,’ he said.
‘After you stop belonging to an institution, that is the moment you can talk about the feelings that have linked you to this club.’
But Bielsa was not short of reasons why he wanted to stay at Elland Road, praising the club’s ‘extraordinary’ willingness to invest in training facilities.
‘It’s not often you have a club that designates so much volume of investment to the improvement of the training facilities,’ he said. ‘Leeds have made a significant contribution economically to provide the tools for a manager to prepare the players.’