Tyler Roberts believes he wouldn’t be the player he is today without his spell working under Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds United. The forward brought an end to five-year association with Leeds earlier this summer as he competed the permanent switch to Birmingham City.
Roberts made 108 appearances in all competitions for United, of which all but one came under Bielsa, playing a key role for the Argentine in both the Championship and the Premier League. His career has taken a wayward turn since Bielsa’s departure from Elland Road, though, and a tough run of injuries saw him struggle to make the desired impact while on loan at QPR last season.
As such, he’ll be looking to find some momentum and get back on track once more at St Andrew’s this time around under John Eustace. Birmingham struggled last season and found themselves on the peripheries of a relegation battle at times, but Roberts will be looking to put everything to he learned at Elland Road to good use in order to help the Blues kick on.
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“It was tough,” Roberts told Birmingham Live about his time under Bielsa. “If I didn’t have that I wouldn’t be as wise and mature at this age.
“To have that at the start of my career helped me massively. He really made me understand what being a professional is; how to act, when to act and what to do.
“The work-rate and the intensity that you have to play at to be a big player is something that he always tried to drum into me. We had analysis two or three times a week individually. There are a lot of things that I took from him.”
He added: “Obviously I was a big part of the Leeds United team, even in the Premier League, but I want to be an even bigger part, which is something I have spoken to the gaffer here about. I need to keep fit and healthy, and bring my experiences from when I was in the Championship, or when I played in the Premier League, to this group.
“There’s a lot of young players so I need to help them, which is mad because not that long ago I was a young player. I want to help them and push everybody on to get to the same places that we were with Leeds a couple of years ago.”
Roberts is no stranger to the Championship, having represented both Leeds and QPR in the division and he’s also under no illusions about how much pressure he is under to perform this time around.
“A lot of people have belief in me and a lot of people know what I’m capable of, but I probably haven’t done that consistently on the pitch,” he added.
“That’s why I haven’t really, really pushed on. It’s something I know I have to do, and I’m working on it, getting my fitness up and trying to get through the whole of pre-season. Hopefully this season I can go out and do it on a consistent basis and show everyone what I’m really capable of, and help the club get to the heights they want to get to.”
