BIELSA ‘NEW LEEDS DON’
THE NAMES may not trip off the tongue like Billy Bremner, Peter Lorimer and Eddie Gray.
But Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United – with the likes of Pablo Hernandez, Pontus Jansson and Kemar Roofe – are aiming to celebrate a famous anniversary.
Next May it will be 50 years since Don Revie led the Yorkshire club to their first-ever league title and belief is growing at Elland Road that promotion to the Premier League can be achieved this season.
It has been 14 years since Leeds last locked horns with the elite, an absence which has also encompassed a threeseason spell in League One.
There have been countless false dawns – in addition to countless managers chewed up and spat out – in the desire to bring back the good old days.
Both Lorimer (above) and Gray, key members of the 1968-69 First Division championship-winning side, still watch the club regularly.
Lorimer believes that, under former Argentina and Chile manager Bielsa, they are capturing the camaraderie and unflinching spirit that Revie introduced.
“Don Revie completely transformed the club,” said Lorimer. “He didn’t just run the team, he ran the whole club.
“If, for instance, the women who washed the kit wanted a pay rise, they went to him. Everyone was made to feel part of what he was trying to achieve.
“There was a fantastic spirit of togetherness among players that still exists today. We were like brothers. We had massive characters – Billy
Bremner, Jack Charlton and Johnny Giles – but no prima donnas.
“Now you can see something building with the current side. They play with spirit and the confidence of a good run of results is building.
“Despite having some injuries, we’ve still been winning games. Since Marcelo Bielsa has come in, he has given a fresh belief to the squad.
“We’re coming up to an important time over the festive period, but, if we can stay in the top two into the New Year, then we have a massive chance of winning promotion.
“The Premier League is about big clubs and Leeds are a big club when you look at the 30,000-plus attendance figures they attract in the Championship.”
And Gray, who travels home and away to watch Leeds with LUTV, believes Bielsa’s tough training regime is paying off.
“He is his own man and doesn’t care what anyone else thinks,” said Gray.
“Right from the start he set a marker and the players had no option but to buy into it.
“Often the key to a successful promotion is to win your home games.
“We’ve now won seven out of 11 league games at Elland Road. We’ve got to keep that run going.
“There have been a number of good starts before only for performances to fade.
“But we’re around halfway through the season now and there is no sign of that happening under Bielsa.”