Michael Skubala will have to get used to the pressure and scrutiny that comes with his current position at the Leeds United helm. The coach will remain in charge at Elland Road for the upcoming fixtures, the club have confirmed, as their hunt to find a permanent successor to Jesse Marsch goes on.
As such, Skubala, who can ordinarily be found handling Under-21s matters, will get the chance to build on the progress he has already made with the senior squad since taking the reins. The caretaker boss had just one session on the Thorp Arch training field before taking the Whites to Old Trafford to face Manchester United last week, but he managed to get a tune of his side.
The Whites didn’t stray too far from the tactics Jesse Marsch had employed before his dismissal, but the alterations Skubala made produced a notable difference. United played with confidence, freedom and slightly more width in Manchester as they held their nerve and claimed a 2-2 draw against the odds.
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It was a success for the caretaker, and although Leeds didn’t pick up anything to show for their efforts in the return fixture at Elland Road on Sunday, the improvements were there to see, particularly off the ball. Holding their shape and remaining compact, Leeds stifled the Red Devils' flair players so well before the Champions League-chasers’ quality shone through in the closing moments.
They finished the game empty handed but the performance was enough to suggest to the board that Leeds are in safe hands for the time being. As such, while the club continue to search for the right man to lead the club forward, Skubala will remain with the first-team and he’ll be the man on the sidelines on Saturday as Leeds travel to face Everton in the Premier League.
He’ll have had an uninterrupted week of training by the time Leeds board the bus to head across the Pennines once more and it’s not beyond the realms of imagination to expect more than just a few minor tweaks. Large wholesale changes are certainly not on the cards, but more of Skubala’s ideas ought to have rubbed off over the last few days.
Anyone who has seen the U21s in action this season will know all about what type of football Skubala likes to see from his teams. The youth side have averaged 2.98 goals per Premier League 2 Division 2 game by playing a free-flowing and attacking brand of football that can be easy on the eye.
Off the ball, the young Whites have been aggressive, but not reckless, pressing high and looking to force errors from the opposition. We saw an element of that from the Whites on Sunday, as they held their shape and asked big questions of the Red Devils’ attacking prowess and defensive line.
How that style will translate into Saturday’s high pressure, must-win, relegation six-pointer against Everton at Goodison Park remains to be seen. What’s clear, though, is the players are responding to Skubala’s methods.
They’re a professional bunch at Elland Road, who were evidently following Marsch’s instructions right up until the day he was dismissed and last week’s performances were enough to show the squad has bought wholeheartedly into Skubala’s message. A full week on training ground will have given those players, young and old, more time to adapt and adjust to what the caretaker team, with Paco Gallardo and Chris Armas also stepping up, wants from them.
It's unlikely that Skubala will be willing speak at length about the work he has done this week during his pre-match press conference this afternoon, but it’ll be intriguing to see what difference he has made when Leeds line up in Merseyside on Saturday.
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