Changes throughout Leeds United’s squad have been widely acknowledged throughout this summer, but there is more than just the squad list which has altered at Thorp Arch. Among the myriad switches Jesse Marsch has made in his backroom reshuffle, he has changed the most senior coaching role under him.
Frankie Schiemer was appointed as Marsch’s assistant head coach when the American signed on in late February, but the Austrian was then moved into a consultancy role this summer. Schiemer will have an overarching brief from afar, looking at the under-21, under-18 and academy set-ups as well as the first team.
Schiemer knew Marsch the best in that original backroom team and inevitably proved to be his closest confidant as his number two. That sounding board and friendly ear will now be provided by Rene Maric, the highly-rated 29-year-old from the continent.
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Maric’s track record would speak for itself if he were in the latter stages of his career, but before the age of 30 he has impressed enough to rise through the ranks at Red Bull Salzburg, Borussia Monchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund. The Austrian is already making an impression on the training ground.
Marsch was asked about Maric’s first week in the post ahead of Saturday’s win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. He said: “He's been great.
“He's been in and around a lot of the discussions already. He's watched all the matches and we've had interaction after each match about a lot of different things and tactics and ideas of what we're trying to accomplish.
“When he's here, internally and working more closely with us, he can see my way of working in thinking and then he's really good at adapting to what that is and then brings his own ideas.
“We've had Frankie Schiemer in as well this week. So we've had our full complement of staff and support system to make sure we're prepared for a good start to the season.
“Rene and I have never worked intensively together, but we share a lot of the same education and a lot of the same concepts of the foundation of what we want as a playing model and then it's just about the nuances of what we can get out of our player pool and what each game will require and what each opponent will require.”
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