Adrian Durham claimed that Leeds United defenders Liam Cooper and Pontus Jansson were terrible last season but were now better players under Marcelo Bielsa.
The talkSPORT broadcaster commented on the defensive duo after the pair were named in the PFA Championship Team of the Year, as confirmed by Leeds’ official website, alongside Whites playmaker Pablo Hernandez.
Durham shared that he thought Cooper and Jansson were a great example that coaching works as he claimed that they had been coached into being better players.
“Liam Cooper and Pontus Jansson used to be terrible last season, they’ve been coached to better players, coaching works,” said Durham on talkSPORT (17:54, Wednesday April 24th).
OPINION
Terrible seems harsh. Cooper and Jansson have improved under Bielsa this season like a lot of their Leeds teammates, but it’s not like their transformation has come out of nowhere. The defensive duo showed signs that they had the tools to succeed at Elland Road in their 2017/18 campaign, they just needed pointing in the right direction. However while Durham clearly suggests Bielsa is behind the players’ improvement, their efforts to taking on board his advice shouldn’t be underestimated. The defensive duo have put in the work to get better and they deserve all the awards that come their way. While it’s nice that they’ve made the PFA’s Championship Team of the Year, it’s clear the duo would rather win promotion to the Premier League rather than any personal accolade. Leeds face an uphill battle winning automatic promotion after their losses to Wigan and Brentford, but they’re more than capable of winning the play-offs.