Football can be a cruel game, rues Leeds boss
LEEDS UNITED’S new manager Jesse Marsch was impressed with his players’ intelligence, despite the American’s Premier League managerial debut ending in defeat at Leicester.
Marsch has worked with the squad for just four days but his philosophy — a fluid 4-2-3-1 set-up with a focus on winning possession and attacking at speed — was evident.
That pleased Marsch, whose side had enough chances to win the match. He relayed his pride to the players after calling them together for a full-time huddle in the centre circle.
‘I’ve learned, and maybe this is the American in me, that sometimes our sport isn’t the fairest but that doesn’t matter,’ Marsch said.
‘You’ve got to do what you can in this sport to manage. In a sport like basketball, you score a lot more points and usually the better team manages to emerge.
‘What I find with this group is I know how hard they work. I know how committed they are to each other and how hard they want to make the fans proud.
‘What I also learned today was how intelligent
they are — how they were able to take a lot of our video sessions, some of the work we’ve done on the pitch in segments and, after four days, put in a performance in like that.
‘I’m very positive even though we’re disappointed with the result.’
The ‘expected goals’ statistic said Leeds should have won 2-0. They remain two points clear of the relegation zone and now face crucial home games against Aston Villa and Norwich City.