Match of the Day pundit Stephen Warnock believes Marcelo Bielsa’s biggest success at Leeds United was handing ‘Championship’ players the chance to play Premier League football.
Bielsa was sacked from his role at the Whites on Sunday following over three-and-a-half-years in charge – the most amount of time he has spent at any club in his managerial career.
The Argentine helped rekindle the relationship between the club and its supporters, while also ending their 16-year wait for Premier League football with promotion from the Championship in 2020.
Go here for all the latest Leeds United news and opinion
Much of Leeds ’ current squad from when he first took over are still playing week in, week out for the club, with many playing vital roles in the ninth-place finish last season.
Speaking on Match of the Day 2, Warnock claims that Bielsa was able to take a group of players to heights they never probably thought would ever be attainable but cannot get his head around supporters who say they would rather be relegated with him still in charge.
He said: “For the players - there are players who are Championship players and he’s given them the opportunity to play Premier League football.
“A chance that they probably never thought they were going to get. They held their own last year; he’s got international players there but for the fans he’s took them from the Championship. It’s been years in the making to get them to that level.
“You see fans saying they’d rather going down to the Championship watching this football, I don’t understand that at all. This is a business decision now, there’s people’s jobs on the line at the end of the day. If they go down, bills have got to be paid and they’re a massive club.”
For the latest Leeds United news direct to your inbox, go here to sign up to our free newsletter
