Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch has appeared to take a swipe at Marcelo Bielsa's training methods, claiming his players were "over-trained" before he was appointed in February.
In an interview with talkSPORT on Tuesday morning, the former RB Leipzig head coach spoke candidly about his first couple of months in charge at Elland Road.
He opened up on his "incredible" squad, the current playing style and being compared to Bielsa, who helped The Whites achieve Premier League promotion for the 2020/21 season following a 16-year absence.
Marsch also suggested Bielsa's intense training methods were a reason behind the long list of injury problems in recent months.
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“The injury issue, for me, had a lot to do with the training methodology," he said. "These players were over-trained and it led to them being physically, mentally, emotionally and psychologically in a difficult place to recover from week to week, game to game.
“I have a very specific methodology with the way I work and I’ve had a reputation for high running data, but also being having a healthy, fit, strong players – who can meet the standards of the game we want.”
The 48-year-old continued: “You could see it in their faces. You could see in the 15th minute that some of them were already at the max – and that shouldn’t be the case.
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“I know there were a lot of games and guys had to play over and over again because of injuries. I find that in this sport, you have to have a fit team, but the more your best players are healthy and able to perform at a high level, that’s how you create success.
“I’ve worked very carefully through methodologies on how we train, how we play, and how that all fits together.”
Bielsa's training methods are notoriously intense. During his time at Athletic Bilbao, the Argentine requested the session be recorded and well, you can see how demanding is was.
In the interview talkSPORT, Marsch also spoke about players falling into "bad habits" when they are tired.
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“The other part is just the playing style,” he added. “Marcelo had such a strong man-v-man playing style. And trying to rip the players away from three-and-a-half years of being instructed to do exactly that, transitioning into what we’re trying to do, has been massively challenging for the players to adapt to.
“They’ve worked really hard at it, but they still fall into bad habits, especially when they’re fatigued on the pitch. It’s normal.
“I’m going to tell them a story today. I was watching a video on the bus ride back [from Watford], and I was frustrated with some of the things that we’re still not grasping so quickly.
“But then when I got off the bus and went to get in my car, I got in the wrong side because I’m still not used to that! So I thought, well, I need to be a bit more patient with them.”
Thoughts on Marsch's latest interview?
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Let us know in the comments.
Featured Image Credit: talkSPORT/AlamyTopics: Marcelo Bielsa, Leeds United, Premier League
