Ryan won’t rubbish Leeds manager’s eccentric ways as he aims to net clean strikes at Pittodrie
BY SCOTT BURNS with it because it wasn’t something they were used to.
“But I think the message behind it was crucial as it helped the boys have that humility within their game. If you’re not humble then a lot of the time you’re not willing to work.
“He also made us do reading classes at one point. He said reading would give us a major psychological advantage.
“He had all of the first team in the gym and he printed off the same book into a script 50 times and made us sit there silently and read for half an hour every day.
“I think the reading was to introduce relaxation to our training day. Sometimes we were in from 8am until seven at night doing triple sessions.”
Bielsa is nicknamed El Loco but Edmondson knows there is no chance of Leeds or any of his players going off the rails under his no-nonsense approach.
The striker added: “He’s an intriguing character. When he first came into the club it was very different but the boys thrived off it.
“He was something different to what we were used to. It was like being at school and learning something new. You get kind of excited and we pushed on and thrived under his system.
“The way Leeds have performed this season is credit to him and to every single one of the players for buying into his methods and system. Sometimes it doesn’t go right and teams can give you a challenge.
“But Leeds stuck to their game plan and pushed on and had a very successful season.”
The 19-year-old is a selfhappy confessed Leeds fan and his dream is to make his mark with his heroes. Edmondson knows a successful stint in Scotland would strengthen his case
He said: “The next big milestone for me is to play with Leeds in the Premier League.
“It’s been every Leeds fan’s dream so hopefully I can come up here and make a difference and catch the manager’s eye.
“I haven’t had the chance to speak to the gaffer as this all happened at 100 miles per hour.
“It was sorted through my agent, the chairman and the Leeds directors so it was all very quick but hopefully I will get the conversation with the gaffer and the coaches.”
Edmondson came through under ex-Don Jackie McNamara at York before he moved to Leeds and was recommended to make the move to Pittodrie by Scotland star Liam Cooper.
He hopes he can make the same impact as the likes of James Maddison, Michael Hector and Danny Ward made while on loan at Aberdeen.
Edmondson said: “Some of the players who have come up to Aberdeen have got good experience like Maddison and Ward.
“They’ve gone on and really pushed on. “From what I’d heard and researched myself, they loved it up here. They got a great experience and had opportunities. That made it a really attractive move for me.”