Jack Harrison says Jesse Marsch has pushed him to be more aggressive since the American took over as manager at Leeds United.
Marsch replaced Marcelo Bielsa at the end of February and so far has kept Leeds United out of the relegation zone. In an interview with the Times before yesterday’s 4-0 loss to Manchester City, Jack Harrison revealed some of the changes since the American’s arrival.
Harrison said that one of the biggest changes for him personally has been Marsch pushing him to be more aggressive. The 25-year-old winger said he had previously been “too nice” at times.
READ MORE: Jesse Marsch and the Marcelo Bielsa legacy
Speaking to the Times, Harrison said: “Jesse has definitely challenged me. There are moments where maybe I let a defender get in front of me. Jesse's creating this mentality of, 'No, don't allow them anything, be aggressive.'
“I'm doing my best to do everything that he's asking for and it's tough at times. It's just not taking anything from anyone.
“If there's a challenge it's making sure I'm going in, going all the way through and doing everything I can to win the ball. When attacking, it's just being ruthless. It's about having this mentality. Kalvin's a great example, whether it's a challenge or a pass, he has that mentality."
Harrison was also asked about the departure of Marcelo Bielsa. He said: "It was tough to see him go but at the same time it's been great for Jesse to come in. He's been great. Jesse plays more narrow and it's about being able to play in more central areas and tighter areas."
The change of manager has also meant a change of training methods: "No more Murderball," said Harrison. "We do different possession drills where we achieve the same numbers as we did but it's not quite Murderball.
“That was the toughest training that I've ever done. We were trying to imitate a 90-minute game crunched into 20 to 30 minutes and achieving the same intensity.
“Sometimes there would be bad tackles but there are no fouls in Murderball. If the ball went out it was straight back in. If you're attacking you had to go fast and if you're defending you had to be aggressive.
“It was non-stop really but at times the quality of the actual sessions wasn't the best because everyone is just going 100mph and there's no calmness. But that's what he wanted to create."
Harrison played the whole of yesterday’s match against Manchester City. Leeds next face Arsenal away on Sunday.
