Here are your Leeds United morning headlines on Friday, March 25.
Jackson reveals Marsch message
Mark Jackson has revealed what Jesse Marsch first told him when the latter got the Leeds United job. The American replaced Marcelo Bielsa in the dugout last month following a disappointing run of results.
One of the first decisions Marsch made was to promote Jackson into the first-team backroom staff after he had previously led the Under 23s team. Jackson admitted that Marsch told him straight away that he had been moved up and was now becoming more of a lead role in the senior set-up.
Jackson had guided the U23s to the Premier League 2 Division 2 title two years ago and has helped develop the likes of Joe Gelhardt, Sam Greenwood and Pascal Struijk throughout his time with the youth side. However, Jackson has opened up on what Marsch spoke to him about when he first met him earlier in the month.
READ MORE: Leeds United's Raphinha to Barcelona noise shows a conflict of interest he must scrutinise
He told the Official Leeds United podcast: "It’s been great. I spoke to him for the first game when I was down at the Spurs game, and he said 'listen, I have some bad news for you, you’re going to have to be in first thing in the morning because you’re going to have to support us'.
"We would have been in anyway because we’re in first thing anyway under Marcelo. He’s a really positive coach and manager and he’s really really open."
Earle insists Marsch is already ingrained in Leeds history
Pundit Robbie Earle has claimed Leeds United head coach Jesse Marsch has already been ingrained into the history of the club by the recent wins over Norwich City and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Whites lost their first two games under the tutelage of Marsch, who was appointed as Marcelo Bielsa's successor after the club parted company with the beloved Argentine.
However, he has bounced back by leading his side to back-to-back wins and former Wimbledon midfielder Earle has insisted the wins have written Marsch into Leeds history.
Speaking on the Premier League on NBC podcast, he said: "For the first time this season, Wolves have conceded three goals. I know they're down to 10 men but huge credit to the players - [Jack] Harrison and [Daniel] James who kept on going up front and kept believing that something could happen.
"It was a great scene with the Leeds fans at the end when Jesse Marsch is clapping to them and think of the Bielsa time and there was all this worry whether Jesse Marsch was the right guy, two performances have already ingrained him into the Leeds kind of history and that's a really big win for them."
Struijk picks out hardest player to face in training
Leeds United defender Pascal Struijk has labelled Raphinha and Crysencio Summerville as the most difficult players to come up against in training. Struijk was responding to a series of Whites supporters earlier this afternoon as he ran a question-and-answer session on his official Twitter.
The 22-year-old was quizzed on a range of different topics including his favourite Leeds moment, kit, dream centre back partner, as well as the hardest members of the squad to mark during training. He picked out two skilful, pacey wingers in the form of Raphinha and Summerville as the toughest.
Given Struijk’s position and physique it isn’t too difficult to understand the reasoning behind his choices, with Raphinha’s Brazilian magic having caused many defenders major problems since his arrival in the Premier League in 2020. Summerville has also looked an absolute nightmare to come up against for defenders during his U23s outings, where he often looks to be a class above the players who attempt to mark him.
