Phil Hay has been speaking about how Jesse Marsch has changed the way Leeds United are training at Thorp Arch this season.
During the Marcelo Bielsa era at Leeds, it was well-documented how gruelling and tough his training sessions could be, with the famous murderball drills a prominent feature that Leeds players had to get used to.
Now though, despite Leeds appearing to play rather similarly out of possession in terms of pressing very well and doing it frequently – they currently lead the league in pressures – according to Hay, Marsch appears to have changed how he trains the players during the week.
Hay has confirmed on The Phil Hay Show that more focus is now on sprinting and sessions are a lot shorter this season.
He said: “People have spoken to me about the fact that over the summer, the training has been different to how it used to be and that the sessions are not as long, they’re not as physically intense. But a lot of attention is paid to practising the short, sharp sprinting, the burst of acceleration that are needed to press in the way that Leeds are trying to press under Marsch.
Will Marsch be a better manager than Bielsa?
Yes!
No!
“You can see that working. It was such a big factor [against Chelsea], because at no point, with the exception maybe of the only part of the second half, at no point were Gallagher and Jorginho able to get free properly and dictate the game.”
TIF Thoughts on Leeds under Marsch…
It was certainly a tough start to life as Leeds manager for Marsch, winning just four games last season and requiring a final-day victory away to Brentford to ensure they maintained their Premier League status.
However, after a full pre-season with the players and superb backing from the Leeds board which has seen seven new faces arrive, they are currently unbeaten and have just picked up one of the results of the season with their 3-0 win over Chelsea.
Therefore, it looks to have been a smart decision to bring in the American and his new training methods appear to be having a major impact on the Leeds squad that had four new players starting on Sunday, which could be a sign of the Bielsa era finally coming to a close for players and fans.