It didn’t take Jesse Marsch long to put together what he has described as Leeds United’s ‘leadership council’ at Thorp Arch. The American head coach mentioned the group of senior players in one of his first press conferences in charge at Elland Road after taking over from Marcelo Bielsa.
Of course, Bielsa already had something of a leadership group which included the likes of Liam Coop e r, Luke Ayling, Adam Forshaw and Stuart Dallas. They were, and still are, some of Leeds’ most experienced players having been around the club and the game for some time.
They were obvious selections for Marsch’s council, when he arrived at the end of February with the brief of keeping United in the Premier League with 12 games remaining. He would rely on the quartet to help set the standards on and off the field, while also acting as a go-between to help Marsch get his point across and vice-versa.
