Former Wales international and regular Sky Sports pundit Craig Bellamy has warned Leeds United fans to make the most of Marcelo Bielsa while he is at the club as he expects the Argentine to continue his trend of short-term stays.
The Whites shocked the Championship with the capture of the former Athletic Bilbao manager in the summer as he took over from the sacked Paul Heckingbottom, and he has got the club flying in the second tier as they push for a return to the Premier League.
However, Bellamy is not expecting the experienced boss to stick around long, and insists that fans should be prepared to see the Elland Road favourite walk out the door in 2020.
He told Sky Sports’ The Debate Podcast (24/10): “He’ll go and pick a team, and he’ll do a project for a couple of years.
“The first year is unbelievable, the second year is brilliant, the players are worn out and in the third year he’s not there, he’s gone – he walks away at that right time, because he knows the way he demands the professionalism, the way he works them, he knows there’s a short time period on that.”
“Leeds should enjoy him this year, maybe enjoy him for next year, because you won’t see him any longer than that.”
Opinion
This is not the sort of verdict that Leeds fans will want to be hearing from Bellamy as they look to build a side worthy of playing in the top flight, and Bielsa will be the man that many, if not all, the supporters believe is the right man to take them to the next level. However, the Welshman makes a very valid point about the record of Bielsa, who has never been one to stick around for too long at a club, with short-term gains evidently prioritised over a long-term project. Does this mean that he will abandon the club if they do secure promotion? You have to think that the only way Bielsa is staying on past next season is if the Whites are sitting among the elite of English football, for he is unlikely to want to continue his career trying to fight his way out of the Championship. He seems to be enjoying his time at Elland Road, but if success is not clearly on the horizon then fans cannot expect him to stick around for too much longer. He could stun everyone and stay on longer, but that all depends on how his players perform for him over the next 18 months or so.