JESSE THE BEST MAN FOR JOB
Marsch on the up and looking more secure, but now he takes on another challenge at his pal’s wedding in Peru
JESSE MARSCH will feel pressure of a different kind – despite guiding a Leeds recovery.
Marsch has steered Leeds to last-gasp back-to-back wins over Liverpool and Bournemouth to lift them out of the bottom three and dampen fans’ calls for his head.
But he will be in the spotlight again during the break for the World Cup because he is best man for his friend’s wedding in Machu Picchu.
Marsch is taking his family with him to Peru and says he will begin writing his speech after today’s clash with Tottenham.
“I haven’t started writing my speech yet and that’s project Sunday,” said Marsch. “I’ll figure it out and I’ve done one before. This job is like public speaking, you know, so I have to use the same skills, but be a bit funnier.
“It will be welcome relief after this intense period.
“I would like it in every way if we can go down to Tottenham and play the way I know we can and find a way to get a result that will be big for us going into the break.”
Marsch will be in Cusco, near Machu Picchu, on November 25 when the US play England in the World Cup in Qatar.
“Everyone in the US, anytime we play England, everyone gets really excited,” said the American, who was Bob Bradley’s No.2 at the 2010 tournament in South Africa. “I’ll be watching that match and cheering for the US.”
Marsch is giving his players two weeks off before they report back to their Thorp Arch base on November 28.
He feels the break has come at a good time for Leeds after a bruising couple of months.
“I think that any chances to have a little bit of a pause are always a chance to re-evaluate, to gather ourselves mentally and physically, so we can go full gas at it again,” he said. “That’s the way we will use it.
“What you know in football is that the mental grind can sometimes be bigger than the physical one.
“The attention to this league and the pressure of expectation around our club means that any kind of break, we can gather to recharge our batteries and make sure that when we go at it again, we go at it all the way.”