Presenter Joe Wainman has claimed former Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa never said a lot to players throughout his tenure.
Having been at the club since 2018 – leading them back to the Premier League after a 16-year absence in that time – the Argentine was sacked in February following a run of poor results.
American coach Jesse Marsch has come in to replace Bielsa and it seems as though they could have one key difference in their managerial styles.
While the new man is more likely to put the ‘arm around the shoulder’ to help bond with his players, Wainman explained how the older coach was a little more standoffish.
Talking on his YouTube channel, he explained: “When he’s [Marsch] talking to his players, he just seems very, very approachable, friendly, that kind of vibe. Maybe they need that right now.
“Maybe they need that right now because, you know, we’ve seen with interviews with Kalvin [Phillips] and that, Bielsa was very away from the players, very rarely brought down his guard.
“I just think that’s how he is as a person. We see that in the videos, people saying goodbye.”
He then added: “I spoke to someone today who sees him regularly, actually, and they said to me, you know, he very rarely says anything at all.”
TIF Thoughts on Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds United…
Despite this managerial stance, it’s fair to say it worked for the most part for Bielsa. Indeed, under his stewardship, the club managed to rise all the way to the top half of the Premier League, having been stuck in Championship obscurity in the years prior.
Not only that, it didn’t stop him from forming a strong bond with his players, either. This has been clearly displayed by the emotional messages sent by the likes of Phillips, Liam Cooper and Patrick Bamford after the Argentine was sacked.
Will Jesse Marsch keep Leeds up?
Yes
No
Despite it all, just as Wainman suggests, perhaps a change in tact from Marsch could be exactly what the players now need as they look to avoid the drop before the end of the season.
In other news: From bad to worse: Leeds fans won’t be happy as news emerges ahead of Leicester clash – opinion