Players must clean dressing rooms in Bielsa revolution

The experience, ideas, work ethic and coaching that Marcelo Bielsa brought with him to Leeds have already transformed results and propelled a struggling side to the top of the Championship.

But the former Argentina coach does not limit his thinking to onfield issues. Post-match rituals are not limited to warm-down exercises; players are also required to clean up after themselves.

Norwich have painted their away dressing room pink in the eccentric hope of lowering opposition testosterone levels. It failed on Saturday as goals from Mateusz Klich, Ezgjan Alioski and Pablo Hernandez in a dominant performance moved Leeds ahead of Middlesbrough, their opponents on Friday, on goal difference.

They did, though, show their humbled opponents plenty of respect by tidying up afterwards. The away dressing room was left spot- less and Bielsa himself could be seen helping to clear away detritus from their dugout.

Bielsa clearly has no time for pampered superstars, but the squad he inherited from Paul Heckingbottom certainly seem to be buying into the new regime.

“He wants this, but players are not the same – they leave things here and there,” said Alioski, the Macedonia midfielder, of the cleanup instructions.

“He wants to change this mentality – that we are clean. After the game, you can see how clean it is inside the dressing room. And the coach helps also. He cleans there.

“It’s really a respect he wants. It’s not only football; it’s also how the person is outside. He wants us to learn it’s not only the football that is important.”

One other innovation was a culture shock to a squad who started promisingly last season but soon faded – a gruelling pre-season designed to force fitness levels to the maximum. Not double sessions, but triple ones.

“We went in at eight in the morning and we went home at seven or eight in the evening, or maybe we sleep in the hotel, so we were never at Previous six games P6 W2 D1 L3

D v Sunderland 1-1 (h) L v Preston 3-1 (a)

L v Aston Villa 1-0 (a) W v Barnsley 2-1 (h) L v Norwich 2-1 (a) W v QPR 2-0 (h) home and we didn’t see the family,” Alioski said.

Bielsa speaks to the media via an interpreter and Alioski revealed that he barely speaks at all to his players, preferring instead to relay instructions through coaching staff. “It’s something different but it’s very interesting also for us players because it’s always the staff that come to say something,” he said.

“But it’s really nice when he comes and says something positive. He says, ‘Bravo, it’s good’ or ‘Not good’. When he says something, you see he really understands something and, when he says to do this, you know you must adapt.”

Norwich had hoped for a similar reaction when they hired Daniel Farke last summer. Farke, who insists the pink paint was nothing to do with him, could do with a better performance from goalkeeper Tim Krul, who palmed Alioski’s header into Klich’s path for the opener and was beaten at his near post by Alioski five minutes later.

Defender Grant Hanley backed the former Newcastle keeper, who watched almost all of last season from the bench at Brighton, to bounce back. “He’s a top goalie,” the Scot said.

Norwich City

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