Jesse Marsch has made a strong impact at Leeds United as they extended their unbeaten run to four matches with a 3-0 win at Watford on Saturday. The Whites have picked up ten points from fixtures against Norwich City, Wolves, Southampton and the Hornets to open up a significant amount of breathing space between themselves and the bottom three.
Marsch has taken a different approach to that of former boss Marcelo Bielsa, with the 48-year-old much closer to the players in terms of his man management style. He has also diverged from the man-to-man system under Bielsa, which in the main has allowed Leeds to become sturdier at the back.
Bielsa, though, was one of the most respected managers in the world by his peers and his departure was viewed as a major loss to the Premier League. But Marsch has been a refreshing change in the dugout for Leeds and the differences in style on the pitch has been there for all to see.
GO HERE: Have your say on Kalvin Phillips’ future
So with that in mind, here is a look at what some of the managers in the division have said about Marsch since his arrival in England.
Ralph Hasenhuttl – Southampton
Southampton boss Ralph Hasenhuttl briefly crossed paths with Marsch during their days in the Red Bull setup. Prior to the two sides’ meeting earlier this month, Hasenhuttl was full of praise for Marsch’s management style.
He said: “He is an outstanding character. He is close to his players and it has been really interesting to watch his development as a coach.
“I always found it interesting to hear his views on football and I can already see a few typical habits of his team. He has found somewhere that suits him and his style of playing football and that is why he has immediately had a good impact.”
Bruno Lage – Wolves
Wolves manager Bruno Lage decided to take a more tactical approach to discussing Marsch in his pre-Leeds press conference. Lage believes that the most obvious change Marsch has made is the wat Leeds operate off the ball.
He said: “He changed some things. We can see now when they are there to press, they wait a little bit, they have more patience. They wait for the opponent to put the ball in some spaces, and then they start to run and start to press.
“I think they are a little bit more patient, but they come and in the end they run a lot, they press high to try to win the duels, when they are defending situations one against one and offensive they are in the same style."
Brendan Rodgers – Leicester City
Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester was Marsch’s first opponents as Leeds boss and had to base his pre-match analysis on his Leipzig days. Rodgers labelled Marsch as ‘flexible’ but spotted some clear tactical methods from his time in Germany against his side.
He said: "I think Jesse set up 4-2-2-2 with the wingers more inside. We are trying to always assess when the manager comes in and have a guess, he’s flexible and he’s done that at Leipzig. It meant we were pressing the game once the ball went over, particularly in the first half, we had more bodies against us.
“We didn't have so many in the second half against us. That was the only change from, say, what Marcelo did, with the wingers stretching the game on the outside."
Pep Guardiola – Manchester City
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has yet to come up against Marsch’s Leeds but believes he has principles similar to the likes of Jurgen Klopp and Hasenhuttl.
He said: “With Jesse Marsch arriving at Leeds it is already a tendency. Five teams, important ones, playing this way, it is because what happened in Germany arrived here.
"Five important teams and managers all playing this way. Transitions, playing inside, high pressing, everybody together, it doesn't matter if we lose the ball because I recover the second one and attack you again, you lose it again and you lose it again.
"This incredibly good methodology, it is the deep tendency here in England."
We want to hear your thoughts, so LOG IN and leave your comment below
