On where the Leeds United squad is at on the injury front
Jesse Marsch: “Adam’s [Forshaw] coming back from injury but feeling really good. Stuart’s [Dallas] still injured and Archie Gray [is still injured]. Pascal [Struijk] picked up a little bit of an injury and won’t be available for Leicester but we’re hopeful that by Sunday he’ll be available so we’ll see how the next few days go.”
On if he is encouraged by recent performances ahead of Leicester
JM: “We feel we’ve clearly made progress as a group. I’ve sat here a lot and said we like our team and that we feel we have potential in this group. But it’s been hard for us to pick up the points that often we feel that we’ve deserved. Often it comes in the form of not scoring enough goals, which helps you command the game more you would want to, not having enough leads but we have to just stay strong in our belief and in our work and know that with the law of averages or that if we keep developing in this way that eventually we’re going to put ourselves in a position to be successful. It’s hard, I’ve said a few times but we have to stay positive and focussed on the next match and make sure that we do everything we can to fight for every single point.”
On what he is telling the players in the week after a frustrating result
JM: “I feel like after a match like that [against Arsenal] they feel like they deserved more. Obviously we walk away feeling gutted because we feel like we deserved more against such a good team. My nature is to be positive, to look at things carefully and be realistic but to remain positive. Sometimes you get tested in those ways because you can’t help but feel the emotion of the let down but I think that that performance can still instil belief even though it’s not result based. In order to really reinforce what’s happening in our team, I think it’s really important that we find ways to get more points.”
On whether it’s difficult for the players to stay positive after a difficult set of results
JM: “I think they typically follow the lead of the leader, or leaders in the club or in the team. I think, in that sense, I have a really good connection with people like Andrea [Radrizzani], Victor [Orta] and Angus [Kinnear], and also with players like Coops [Liam Cooper] and Luke [Ayling]. I just try to get their feedback sometimes but also reinforce the appropriate things with the group. I can say that those two men [Cooper and Ayling] are as strong and as committed as ever.”
On whether he’s surprised to see Leicester City where they are at this stage of the season
JM: “Yes. They’re better than the last placed team in the league that’s for sure. They’re good on the ball, they’re very dangerous in transitions. They’ve still scored a good number of goals, and then defensively they’ve given away a little bit too much. But, I think going there and knowing they got a positive result [against Crystal Palace] and having two matches at home and a chance to gather momentum in their season, we’d be very foolish to not be ready for a big performance. We’ve talked about what we want the match to look like, we’ve talked about what to expect and now we’ve got to be able to execute tomorrow night.”
On how Premier League managers operate in their technical area after last weekend
JM: “Well, I’m glad I’m not in that discussion this time. I mean, listen, I don’t think any of us are proud when sometimes we have to be more emotional than we’d like to be and certainly we all respect referees and we want to see them treated fairly, so I think I try to do that. I try to have dialogue and support the referees when I think they’ve done a good job. Even if I’m critical of them, I try not to make it accusatory. I respect the work they do and how important they are to the game. Of course, the decisions often dictate the fine line for a club like us what success and failure is but we have to accept that and live with that and focus on ourselves and I think that’s the most important thing that a manager can do.”
On whether Junior Firpo will start against Leicester City and whether Wilfried Gnonto and Joe Gelhardt will be involved
JM: “Junior [Firpo] will start. I think he’s been patiently waiting and also trying to make sure he’s sharp, fit and strong so that when he gets called upon, he’s ready to go. I’m excited for him to have his opportunity now and to show that he’s ready. Willy [Gnonto], Joffy [Joe Gelhardt] and Sam [Greenwood] will all be with us as well as some of the guys who have done a bit of double duty [with the U21s]. We knew that with a three game week, we use some of those U21 matches to keep them fit and strong and sharp and now we’re going to need them in this week to be ready for us.”
On whether he needs to hear positivity from his players to validate his approach following Marc Roca’s comments
JM: “I know that with our team. I appreciate that Marc [Roca] said that and a few of the guys have come out publicly very positive about a lot of thing but I know by what I see every day and the work that I see every day that the group is fully committed and the belief level is very high. But that’s why the results become important. It’s even less to do with where we are in the table and more that we just need that validation and that feeling of knowing that the work we’re doing is the right work and it’s going to lead us to where we want to go. I know that, based on my experiences in this business, I know that you can’t focus too much on results but that results always help breed positivity so that’s where we’re at now.”
On Brenden Aaronson and Jack Harrison’s recent request to switch roles
JM: “This was a discussion during the week and a big tenet of my leadership style is ownership and wanting the players to feel ownership and wanting to give their opinions. Obviously, I have a job to do to make decisions, but when I make decisions that maybe are against the way a player feels or against him being in the line-up, if they know what the process is and they believe in the way that I treat them and go about making the decisions then they can even be satisfied and commit to it even if they don’t entirely agree. So when those two come up to me at half-time, Brenden [Aaronson] came up to me first and I said go speak to Jack [Harrison]. Then Jack and Brenden came to me and I said – and by the way, half-time is pretty quick – but I said what do you think Jack? How do you feel? And he said yeah, I think it’ll be good. And Brenden’s reasoning was maybe Jack could be in more 1 v 1 situations and I can help press in the middle and close things down and it’ll be beneficial to us and the team and I said great, lets do it. I think it was one of the things that helped in the second half against Arsenal. I think the tempo we played at in the first half challenged them, and I think that change and Pat [Patrick Bamford] coming on made a big difference in the second half.”
On Leicester City’s vulnerability
JM: “I think that they’re dangerous. I always find that when teams are a little desperate for points, and listen, I think Leicester has played better than what their record is, it means that it can be hard to predict exactly what their line-up might be, what their tactics might be and what their performance might be. We are expecting their absolute best and we’d be foolish to think anything other than that. And when they are at their best, they’re a very good team. I think we’ve created a match plan that addresses what we want to be on the day and what we want to look at with what they are and I want them to go out and play brave and go for it.”
On which area of Leeds game he wants to see improve
JM: “Goals. We need more goals. We need more leads, we need more to capitalise when we’re on top and I said that after the Arsenal match. I think everyone around here knows that that’s where we are now and if we can start to add that to the mix then we could have a really good team.”
On whether tomorrow could be the ideal team to face to get back to winning ways
JM: “I think that the important thing is how to just continue to build and what we don’t want is that we have a performance like Arsenal where we feel good about it and came away with nothing and think that’s enough. It should build hunger in us after the next game even more and the next and the next and the next. That’s the focus right now, to make sure there is no satisfied mentality and that right now we’re going to do whatever it takes to play well and find results.”
On how important it is for his players to receive emotional support after not winning since August 21
JM: “You know, what’s funny is, I think our last win was a couple of months ago? But it doesn’t feel like that. It feels as though the work has been really good. It feels like a lot of the performances haven’t been complete but have been solid. It feels like we’re developing and growing and then it’s just the unforgiveable nature of what this league is. Sometimes doing everything right doesn’t mean you get the result. I feel like we’re doing a lot of the things right. I feel like the concentration to improve and to be good and to win has been spot on but the opponents are also quite good.
On whether he feels sympathy for Brendan Rodgers
JM: “Yeah, I mean Brendan’s an experienced manager. I don’t know him that well but we’ve had enough interactions in moments. I think he’s a good person. He always seems friendly enough and open enough and generous enough with his time. He’s obviously coached at some big clubs and had big success along the way. I think, none of us sleep very well when we’re not performing the way that we want and that’s the misery of this job and the shared misery that we have and the respect that we have for each other that way. I have no doubt that he will be successful in the future just like he has been in the past.”
On whether good memories against Leicester City could inspire Patrick Bamford
JM: “Of course, goal scorers, that’s almost all they think about. Scoring goals. I’m challenging Patrick to continue to grow into the type of striker we need and I’ve said for a couple of weeks now that we think he’s part of the solution and I’ve also said, my experience of being around strikers is if they’re not getting chances it’s much more concerning than if they’re getting chances and not scoring. He’s getting chances in bunches and his talent is so high that it’s only a matter of time before those start to go his way and when they do, then we could start to see a total change in momentum in him and for us. So that’s the goal, is to help him, to challenge him to continue to move forward in a positive way but to support him and let him know that it’s close. I think Thursday could be a catalyst for him and for the rest of the season.”
On coaching playing fast football in the final third
JM: “I mean I spoke with them a couple of weeks ago when I introduced thirteen phrases when I first came and they were counter-pressing, pressing, things like that. One of those that I use is the phrase one hundred and seventy. Which is the ability to play at tempo and speed, but to in your head, slow yourself down so you can see players clearly and you can make attacking plays and that you can still play with quality in the last third. I ask them to run so much and be so intensive that getting that balance right, we’re still trying to develop that. However, I though against Arsenal, that was a fantastic display of our ability to win balls and then create big chances. It just wasn’t enough to finish them off. So I’m pleased with a lot of our attacking players and I think in many ways, they’re playing well, it’s just we’ve got to help them make the last step in finding more goals. I know we’ll get there.”
On managing Rodrigo after his mistake against Arsenal
JM: “I said the reason I took him off wasn’t because of the mistake. It was because I felt he was getting bit tired and not pressing in certain ways that we wanted and that I felt that bringing on fresh legs would help. That was the plan from the beginning with him and Patrick [Bamford] against Arsenal, it was just when do we do it. So we decided to do it at half time. But I was clear with Rodri that he’s very important to us and that we need him. That him and Patrick will play together a lot, that we will continue to try and create clarity in roles and help him continue to push and he’s been incredibly important and he’s been our most dangerous player.”
On managing Luke Ayling who is now fit but sitting on the bench
JM: “My way of working with all the guys is to communicate clearly what the plans are and what the next steps are for them to continue to grow and develop. I think it’s even more important when they’re really important figures in the team. Certainly Luke [Ayling] is that for us. So I’ve just tried to communicate decisions, I’ve tried to communicate what we need from him for him to continue to show, to be the example of how to hand difficulty with decision making from the manager and I think he’s done that really well and to continue to be supportive of the group and to be ready to perform. That’s the job. I think he’s done that at an incredibly high level and he’s going to get more and more playing time, I’m sure.”
On what Luke Ayling has to do to get his starting spot back from Rasmus Kristensen
JM: “It’s not really what does he need to do, more that he needs to be ready. In a persons career, the way this works is you never know what the next moment is going to look like and you certainly need to be ready to seize that moment at any time. I don’t need to tell Luke that, he’s incredibly experienced and mature with who he is and how he deals with things. From day one, he and Coops [Liam Cooper] have been the most mature, complete, sure leaders that I’d been around. I don’t know how else to acknowledge how fortunate I am to have them in our group. I still know Luke has a lot to offer from a playing perspective as well. It’s not just about leadership, it’s about the player he is. So, he’ll be ready when called upon and I’m sure he’ll do great and he’ll make a case for himself everyday.”
On whether he is telling players that Leeds really need a win or if he’s approaching games in a calmer manner
JM: “Obviously, there’s always pressure. There’s a lot of attention that’s paid on this club and this league. We know the responsibility that we have, I know the responsibility that I have. This responsibility to have this team be successful is almost entirely my job. I don’t think of it that way, I think of it as a group project, but I don’t want them to feel extra pressure about that we need an absolute result – a must win moment right now. It’s more about continue the belief, do the extra little things, put even a little bit more into the preparation into the work, focus a little bit harder, be a little bit smarter, be a little bit clearer, and that’s the only way I know how to get something clicking and moving in the right direction where the momentum then becomes more powerful than the work. That’s ultimately what we’re driving towards and I believe we’re really close. We’re on the cusp of that happening and the goal is for Thursday to be a continuation of that moment.”
On Junior Firpo’s long term prospects at Leeds
JM: “I’ve heard criticisms of Junior from the past. I can only tell you that since I’ve been here, he has in every way tried to adapt and learn and grow into the player that I believe he can be. For me, his technical ability and passing ability is one of the best on our team, his athleticism is definitely on the high end of our team, his intelligence is very high, and then his tactical awareness is also very keen and I think that if he can continue to add the right kind of aggressiveness, he can grow into a real defender and be a real two-way player. At left-back, there’s not a lot of those types of players out there in the world right now. So, specifically with Junior, I’m trying to develop him into the player I believe he can become and I belief he can be a big player here no doubt. He has everything he needs and his commitment to try to that is at a really high level, even at a moment when Pascal [Struijk] has been playing so well and it’s not been easy for him to accept being on the bench.”
On the European Super League
JM: “I think this first came up when I was in Salzburg. I even remember seeing the players walk out with the t-shirts, what did it say? Open play is fair play? I can’t remember exactly what the t-shirt said but I thought that was a big statement from Leeds United to have that and I agreed and in Salzburg I said this and I’ll say it here. No one wants a league that’s not about earning it and deserving it and no one wants to see a league that’s just given. I think already in our sport, the world is imbalanced. Ok, you can argue clubs like Manchester United and Real Madrid and go down the list and say over the years they’ve built success and that’s helped them build more interest and value or riches. But I’m an American. I come from American sports where parity is the most important thing to us. Where at the start of the season, anyone can win. And then I was a coach in the Bundesliga, where Bayern Munich had made 30 times the amount of Arminia Bielefeld. It’s a league where when you start, you say Bielefeld has zero chance of winning the league and Bayern Munich has 75% chance of winning the league. That’s not competition to me and that’s what I want to see. I want to see fairness and I want to see people have to earn what they deserve. Any idea of the European Super League is frankly totally ridiculous.”
