OPINION
Marcelo Bielsa approaches transfer windows with something approaching if, not, disdain, then, certainly, an element of mistrust.
The man who has masterminded Leeds United’s transformation from mid-table mediocrities to table-toppers and genuine automatic promotion candidates leaves recruitment to the club’s director of football and concentrates on correcting his team’s wrongs on the training ground.
Supporters getting in a flap about a never-ending injury crisis and three consecutive defeats are not having their views echoed by the manager.
Bielsa is giving the impression that the imminent return of a few long-time absentees, notably defensive pair Liam Cooper and Gaetano Berardi, should do the job of restoring order to a defence that has looked vulnerable of late.
As for the rest of his squad, it appears he would be quite happy if no signings were made and he had exactly the same squad to work with in the second half of the season.
Minus a few youngsters he believes will benefit from senior football at a slightly lower level than the Championship.
Leeds have announced a blizzard of transfers in recent days, all of them defender loan exits. Liam Kitching set the ball rolling last Friday when his Harrogate Town loan was extended for the rest of the campaign and Lewie Coyle (Fleetwood Town) and Conor Shaughnessy (Hearts) followed in a Monday double deal.
It emerged on Tuesday evening that centre-back Paudie O’Connor has become the fourth with a new deal as Leeds recalled him from Blackpool and sent him out to Bradford instead.
While fans wonder why on earth centre-backs are leaving in their droves when the manager is being forced to use sticking plasters to patch up his first-team defence, Bielsa appears bothered not in the slightest.
He will merely shrug, get on with it and concentrate on improving those at his disposal for the greater good of the team.