Jesse Marsch has opened up on how he felt about Marcelo Bielsa when Leeds first offered him the chance to succeed him - and responded to Ted Lasso comparisons.
Leeds’ director of football Victor Orta approached Marsch last week and initially he felt Bielsa should be allowed to see out his contract before he replaced him in the summer.
Leeds sunk to their fourth successive defeat in their 4-0 loss to Tottenham in their next game to slide deeper into relegation trouble and Marsch understands why they had to act.
“I didn’t want Marcelo to have to go out like this, I wanted to see him continue and finish his legacy and keep the team up,” said the American.
“I know what it’s like, I just left a team midway through a season, it’s not a good feeling. I wanted Marcelo to finish on a high note and the club to finish on a high note with him.
“I wanted to make that argument with Victor when he called me, but I could see that the group was suffering.
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“And so I had to wrap my mind around doing it now and my focus is not on the Championship, it’s on finding ways that we will be in the Premier League.”
Leeds brought forward their plan to appoint Marsch in the summer because they are so worried about going down and they will keep faith with him if they are relegated.
Marsch, 48, knows Leeds chose him because he is similar in style to Bielsa, but he has vowed to be his own man.
He has ditched Bielsa’s man-for-man marking and instead will press in smaller groups.
He has adopted zonal marking and has spent much of this week working on set-pieces to improve Leeds’ awful defence.
Bielsa’s infamous ‘murderball’ training sessions are no more and Marsch will lesser the players’ workload because he feels some were injured due to the fact they played with niggles.
“Marcelo changed the mentality of the club and the team, helped create a successful winning mentality here and I want to understanding the things he did well and how to stay true to some of those things,” he said.
“But I also know I don’t have to be Marcelo Bielsa. It’s more important for me to be me and provide what this team needs in order to continue to get better and grow.
“I followed Marcelo’s career, I watched him closely and respected and learned from what he has done. But clearly I’m different, I am my own person, I have my own ways and it’s important the players understand me.
“I know there are factions of people who may not accept me so well because of their love for Marcelo.
“I just want the team to show how good they are and that as good as Marcelo is and was, the team was too.”
Marsch has also urged fans not to judge him on TV character Lasso.
Lasso, who is appointed manager of fictitious Premier League side AFC Richmond despite having no football experience, reinforces that perception and he has vowed to change it.
“I think there is probably a stigma,” said Marsch, who won back-to-back league and cup doubles with Red Bull Salzburg. “I’m not sure Ted Lasso helped!
“I haven’t watched the show, but I get it. People hate hearing the word soccer.
“I have used the word football since I was a professional football player. More and more in the States, we are adapting to what the game is like here in England.
“I can understand they don’t think we have the experiences that can be created in Europe. Frankly, they’re right.
“I’m very cognitive of the fact that I’m not perfect and I don’t want to be. All I can say is the only way I know how to do things is to go all in and give everything I have, to believe in who I am, to believe in the people I work with and to try to maximise what we are.
“I find if you do that you can be incredibly surprised by the human spirit and what you can achieve. That sounds like Ted Lasso!”
