Buckle up and enjoy the Bielsa ride. It may be over in a flash

NO true lover of football reaches for the remote control when Leeds United are playing.

Like a good thriller, you never know what’s coming next – they are box-office.

And they’re likeable, too – not a sentence that will sit well with the majority of the country, but admirers of boss Marcelo Bielsa’s charismatic antics stretch beyond the boundaries of west Yorkshire.

It’s helter-skelter, edge-of-your seat fare. It provides us all with the kind of rush an adrenaline junkie would throw themselves out of a plane to generate. But how much further can Leeds go? What more can the 66-year-old (right) do to push them higher up the Premier League table?

In one respect, it’s hugely unfair to be putting that pressure on a club enjoying only its second campaign back in the big time.

Were the same questions being asked of Aston Villa this time last season? No.

But the parameters are different. For a start, Bielsa is of pensionable age. He doesn’t need the money. He doesn’t make lengthy commitments. He never has. And he isn’t going to start now. Not that this is any impediment to him doing the job – Roy Hodgson and a host of others have proved otherwise.

But the practice of year-long contracts makes it difficult to plan.

How do you convince a transfer target he will enjoy the most fruitful years of his career with the Whites when the boss could be off in a year?

Moreover, how long are Leeds players ready to put up with the physical demands being placed upon them?

The stories of the boot camps are the stuff of legend, ‘Murderball’, fat tests and all the rest.

The modern-day professional is a fickle man – but the answer is that they will, as long as the club wins games of football.

This season, Leeds will be better. They are more experienced, more battle-hardened and streetwise.

And the £25million purchase of Dan James from Manchester United looks a good fit.

So there’s scope for improvement, which should gladden the heart of any coach and supporter. And there were signs last season that the fearless Bielsa approach, maybe even reckless at times, was being reined in. During the first half of last season,

Leeds conceded 35 goals, in the second, 19.

The points difference wasn’t huge. But stopping the flow at one end is going to help improve results. It has to.

But, equally, there are signs that nothing has changed.

On the opening day, Manchester United, with Paul Pogba pulling the strings and Bruno Fernandes causing chaos, proved that lessons hadn’t been learnt.

So, where are they? A finish of between eighth to 11th would not be a bad return. Very good, in fact.

Of course, we neutrals want the joyride to continue. But it’s Bielsa’s fourth season.

And the gap to the top four is huge. Leicester City, Everton and West Ham all look like they will be thorns in the side of the big boys this term. Leeds have the capability to do harm, but not truly hurt.

But what next?

Perhaps it’s best to just buckle up and enjoy every second.

Marcelo Bielsa is prepared to live his managerial life on the edge – so why shouldn’t we?