Leeds United chief Angus Kinnear has confirmed that the club are nearing the completion of a big development at their Thorp Arch training ground where staff have been working around the clock to try and bring success to the club.
The work at the training complex is said to have been initiated by the arrival of manager Marcelo Bielsa, the Argentine looking to work alongside the facilities director at Elland Road to ensure that the development takes place to help improve what is on offer to the players and staff.
Kinnear has confirmed that construction is nearing an end and that the staff behind-the-scenes have been making the most of what is on offer.
Writing in his programme notes, as quoted by Leeds-Live, he said: “The extensive renovation work at Thorp Arch is almost complete and, under the guidance of Marcelo Bielsa and facilities director Mark Broadley, we have created an environment that demands team unity and high performance.
“Thorp Arch has almost become a 24-hour operation with coaching taking place in every available daylight hour and Victor and Marcelo’s team of analysts burning the candle at both ends in assessing everything from tactical innovations in an obscure foreign league to statistical anomaly in our opposition report that might unlock the next victory.”
Opinion
Bielsa is not just transforming Leeds on the pitch but making the most of the money available to help change the club behind-the-scenes as well, and it should be a great boost for the club moving forward under the Argentine. Having the best possible facilities is going to bring the best out of your players, helping them develop their skills, avoid injury and recover from any setbacks they might have picked up. It will also be a draw for potential signings to work day in, day out at a modern, refurbished training centre where your needs are cared for. The money spent in the transfer window might bring immediate success but there is no longevity there, and only by investing in the club itself, which includes the facilities available to everyone, will they cement a long-term future of growth, development and glory. Some might say that Bielsa is a short-term boss with short-term goals, but this work signifies he has the club’s best interests, both now and down the line, at heart.