The size of the task facing Jesse Marsch at Leeds United is hard to quantify given the fact he is the first new manager at Elland Road in three and a half years.
The job of replacing Marcelo Bielsa would have been tough enough itself had he done that in the summer with the Whites Premier League status secure.
Factor a Premier League relegation battle into that and it’s immeasurably harder.
He was able to make a good first impression though, despite the frustrating defeat at King Power Stadium.
He claimed after the match that the performance was more important than the lack of points which does make sense in some ways but also couldn’t be further from the truth.
What is true is that the performance was remarkably better than the last few showings of Bielsa’s reign with defensive solidity at the heart of the display.
Although, former Premier League midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker believes the task of replacing the great man could still be too big for Marsch.
“With Leeds, you look at Bielsa’s style, he’s implemented a style that these guys are used to playing,” he told BBC 5 Live’s Football Daily podcast.
“When you’re used to free-spirit attacking football, consistently getting forward, it’s hard to go away from that and become defensively minded.
“It’s so hard to change that style quickly because they never played a balanced type of football where they would attack then defend and be comfortable. They were open 24/7 and they conceded a lot of goals.
“I watched their game today, they did play well, they play a lot more counter attacking, a lot more organised but still, in the vital run they’re on for them to have all those chances against Leicester and to lose 1-0, that’s going to hurt.
“That’s really going to hurt and it’s a really tough task that he’s got on his hands there to change the mentality of that club with the players.”
Reo-Coker was one of several pundits who criticised Marsch for the way he chose to behave after the full-time whistle.
The Leeds boss got the players into a huddle on the pitch at King Power Stadium before leading them over to the away end where they showed their appreciation for the travelling supporters.
“Would it not have been a better decision just to stick with Bielsa until the end of the season and just see where the chips fall? Asked Reo-Coker.
“Because now you’re asking a manager who has no Premier League experience, the whole Ted Lasso speech he gave and you lose the game 1-0 and you have your team out on the pitch after doing your team talk.
“I understand it’s togetherness but come on, this isn’t a TV show. Tell them in the dressing room, you don’t have to do that theatrical thing for the cameras.
“The only other manager we’ve seen do that was the Hull manager doing it at half time, Phil Brown did that. Come on you’ve just lost the game 1-0.”
The Leeds players will soon be able to show whether the on-field team talk has spurred them on as they are back in action on Thursday evening in another huge game.
Aston Villa, fresh from their 4-0 demolition of in-form Southampton, are the visitors to Elland Road and it will be another real test of whether Marsch has been able to transform his team’s defensive fortunes.
