Leeds United captain Liam Cooper has spoke of his delight that the club have managed to retain the services of manager Marcelo Bielsa for another season.
News broke on Tuesday morning that the Argentine had agreed to exercise the option which will see him attempt to take Leeds back to the Premier League after coming agonisingly close in his first season in England.
The Scottish defender revealed to Leeds’ official website: “It has been a bitterly disappointing end to the campaign for everyone at the club, but this news allows us to focus on the next year – we have continuity for the first time in my career at Leeds and we will all now be focused on returning to pre-season and working hard to achieve our ultimate goal together.”
Cooper, 27, has been at the club since 2014 when he was signed from Chesterfield and became club captain in 2015. The defender has made 160 appearances for the Whites in his five years at the club and promotion is the ultimate goal for the skipper.
Leeds finished third under Marcelo Bielsa and equalled the record for most wins in a single season with 25, a record that has stood since 1928.
OPINION
There is no doubt that Leeds as a club have improved massively under Marcelo Bielsa and his coaching staff. The whole dynamic of the club changed since the Argentines arrival, turning the Whites into a force to be reckoned with after so long out of the spotlight for footballing reasons. There was no hiding that when Bielsa arrived, the club was not in a good state. New Chairman Andrea Radrizzani has managed to make sure the club was financially stable after the turmoil created by previous owners, but on the pitch the squad needed big changes. The talent was there but Bielsa transformed the players physically and mentally in such a short space of time and another crack at promotion with a longer pre-season can only be good news for the Leeds fans. Cooper commented on the fact that the continuity of Bielsa can only be good news for the club and that is exactly what it is. The Championship saw what Leeds can do after such a short period of time under Bielsa and an extra year could mean they could be even better.