First impressions have already shown Leeds United’s players the differences they will find between Jesse Marsch and Marcelo Bielsa.
The new head coach spent his first day at Thorp Arch on Monday ahead of the evening announcement which landed shortly after 7pm.
Coverage of Marsch’s previous work detailed the close relationships he tried to foster with his playing group, an arm around the shoulder or informal talk between sessions around the training ground.
All of the United players at Leeds, at some stage, spoke of the professional distance Bielsa kept from them and tried to allow them to manage themselves when they were not working.
If a player were substituted, acknowledgement from Bielsa did not come in the dugout, nor were there public shows of appreciation on the pitch at full-time.
Bielsa’s man management came behind closed doors, when players may have least expected it and in rare moments which made it feel all the more special.
Generally, he kept himself to himself and let the players run the dressing room. In 2019, he said: “To answer your question, I love my players because if I don’t love the players, it’s difficult for me to do my job well, but the closer someone is to us, the better he gets to know us and it’s sometimes better to keep the affection linked if we don’t see the other too close.
“If the players were closer to me, they would respect me less because they would see how I am really.
“It doesn’t mean I’m acting in a way I shouldn’t, but it’s better for them to see me from a certain distance than to see me closer because my goal is to maintain the relationship between 20 players that are looking for the same thing.
“Sometimes when you criticise a player you have better results than when you praise him. That’s why the work of managing people is an art.”
In a video released by the club, there are clips of Marsch meeting the players at Thorp Arch. As he moved around the dining room, Marsch shook hands with all the players and shared a few moments in conversation with them.
Raphinha, Rodrigo, Junior Firpo, Daniel James, Liam Cooper, Luke Ayling, Stuart Dallas, Kalvin Phillips, Robin Koch and Jack Harrison are among those he is pictured with before a wider group meeting on the indoor pitch at the complex.
Also on the video, former Swansea City coach Cameron Toshack is spotted in the background. He is expected to be included in the backroom staff.
