Defeat for Leeds United at the hands of Manchester City was expected even by the blindest of optimists, but the real gut punches of a bleak weekend were landed in Hertfordshire and Merseyside. Burnley’s last-gasp snatch of victory from the jaws of defeat at Watford and Chelsea’s hapless resistance at Everton tightened up the Premier League in the very worst way for the Whites.
It has felt like a long week. After a day or two of processing where Leeds are at, with Everton in the driving seat and a game in hand, despair gave way to fortitude and preparation for the next big opportunity to wrestle matters back into their own hands.
On Friday, Marsch was asked about the reaction he had seen in the players this week and how he had stopped the anxiety of the league table clouding preparations for Arsenal. While emotions were understandably running high in the early part of the week, the head coach ultimately saw the right application at Thorp Arch.
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“It’s normal after results, whether they’ve gone for or against us, to have emotions attached to what’s happening, but by the time we get to work and get on the pitch and start talking about what we want the weekend to look like, there’s clarity and not a lot of tension at that point,” he said.
“It’s normal for everyone to have emotional responses to different results that don’t go our way or do go our way, but again, the work and the focus, and the focus on the work here, has been phenomenal. It’s been a real strength of ours so far.”
