Here are your Leeds United evening headlines on Saturday, March 26.
Savage praises James
Former Leicester City midfielder Robbie Savage has highlighted the performance of Leeds United winger Daniel James in Wales' 2-1 World Cup play-off semi-final win over Austria. Gareth Bale's brace helped Rob Page's side to a massive victory which takes them one step closer to the tournament in Qatar this year.
However, James also played a huge role in the win with his pace and speed on the counter-attack. And Savage, speaking in the Mirror, has praised the 24-year-old's role in the success.
“There are other heroes who have taken Wales to the gates of Qatar 2022, notably manager Robert Page, who has done an outstanding job with brave team selection and rekindling the dragon’s fire,” he said.
READ MORE: Mark Jackson details first conversation with Jesse Marsch at Leeds United
“Aaron Ramsey’s quality, Daniel James’ pace, Joe Rodon’s temperament under siege, Ben Davies’ know-how, the list goes on and on. Page is now reaping the benefit of a bigger pool of Welsh talent at Premier League clubs and it showed with a mature, committed performance against Austria."
Jackson praises Leeds academy
First-team coach Mark Jackson has explained the importance of the Leeds United academy after a number of players contributed to last week's win over Wolverhampton Wanderers. The Whites recovered from going two goals down to secure a 'much-needed' 3-2 victory at Molineux to move seven points clear of the relegation zone.
Goals from Jonny Otto and Francisco Trincao put Wolves in the ascendancy before the hosts were reduced to ten men. Raul Jimenez was shown a second yellow card for a late challenge on Illan Meslier.
This proved to be the turning point in the game as Leeds scored times in the second half, with Jack Harrison, Rodrigo and Luke Ayling all netting to secure a second successive win for the Whites. It felt like a massive win in the context of Leeds' season and Jackson has expressed his delight to secure all three points before the international break.
When asked about the Wolves comeback, he told the Official Leeds United Podcast: "It was a follow-on from the Norwich game, wasn't it? In the first half when we started losing players, we lost the spine of the team and we forget that sometimes.
"We did a lot of work on Wolves and they don't concede many goals at all, so for them to score two goals and then us to try and get back into the game in the manner that they did was fantastic. It's all credit to the players, they're on the pitch, they go out there, they cross the white line.
"They had to roll their sleeves up and they did to good effect. Listen, it was a much-needed result and it has taken us into the international break now in good shape."
Four improved players under Marsch
It has been a successful few weeks for Jesse Marsch, who has guided Leeds United to back-to-back victories for the first time since January. The Whites came out on top in what was billed as 'six-pointer' against Norwich City, before beating Wolverhampton Wanderers in a five-goal thriller last Friday.
They were his first two wins since replacing Marcelo Bielsa in the Elland Road dugout last month. Those results have saw the Whites climb seven points clear of the relegation zone - giving them a much better chance of staying in the Premier League.
There is no doubt that some players have improved under Marsch and have stepped up since the Whites lost six successive matches. LeedsLive have taken a look at four, in particular, who have benefited from the American.
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