Reservation has been the default mode for Javi Gracia in his media dealings since arriving at Leeds United. When asked about injuries, tactics or overall aims, the head coach has found discretion to be the better part of valour.
Gracia’s neither been rude nor ignorant of what has been asked, but he has smilingly played things down or simply made it clear there are some topics he would not rather speak about. He may have only been in the job, officially, for four days, but the best emotions attached to the role are already taking hold and luring Gracia out of his shell.
Each of the last three head coaches have talked about how strong the nucleus is of this Whites squad. If Marcelo Bielsa boiled the squad down to a rock-solid foundation, Jesse Marsch consistently talked up the character and spirit of the group left by the Argentine.
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Now Gracia, less than one week in, has been bitten by the same bug. On Monday, he was asked about the single most impressive discovery of his first few days in the job.
“From my first day, I could see the attitude of the players, the desire of the players to improve the situation,” he said. “If you see, for example, the moment when we scored the goal, the reaction of all the players.
“Please see it again and you can feel what the players are and what the players want. It’s the commitment they have with the situation and this is, for me, the most important tool to work, to improve and, at the end, to achieve the target.”
A new head coach is traditionally expected to have the initial impact on the squad they inherit, but Gracia has been bowled over by the mental attributes and camaraderie in this squad. It is the players who have already had an impact on the Spaniard.
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