Hate is an edge Jesse Marsch has looked for in the managers he faces in the dugout, but the ‘shared misery’ of coaching in the Premier League has made it difficult to find that animosity. The Leeds United head coach is preparing to visit Watford and Roy Hodgson, the oldest manager in Premier League history, on Saturday.
There is deep-seated respect from Marsch for what the 74-year-old has achieved in his career and he expects there will be the typical post-match debrief at Vicarage Road, in line with what he has already experienced in his time here. While Staffordshire native Adrian Heath set the tone for Marsch in the United States for after-game customs in the UK, the American has had to begrudgingly accept the niceties can be quite rewarding despite the desire to dislike and beat his opposite number.
Ralph Hasenhuttl and Brendan Rodgers had similar offerings for Marsch in his first few games, but that handshake misstep made matters a little icy with Dean Smith. Asked about the environment between managers in the top flight, he said: "I would say congenial, maybe too congenial for me, but I appreciate the manager, the respect, I call it a shared misery and the respect for that shared misery in England is pretty strong.
