‘I couldn’t’… Jesse Marsch says he would have burst into tears if he did one thing after Leeds sacked him

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Jesse Marsch has shared what he was unable to do immediately after being sacked by Leeds United 12 months ago.

In some ways, it feels like a lifetime ago since Jesse Marsch was given the boot at Elland Road. Since the American departed, we have seen the likes of Michael Skubala, Javi Gracia, Sam Allardyce and Daniel Farke appointed.

But it was indeed just over a year ago, in the wake of an abject 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest, that Leeds decided to get rid of Marsch. Ultimately, it is probably fair to say that his tenure is not remembered particularly fondly by Leeds fans.

Jesse Marsch was unable to say goodbye to Leeds squad after sacking

Marsch did oversee Leeds staying in the Premier League in his first few months in charge. But those of us who hoped that a summer transfer window and a full pre-season would give Marsch the platform to actually build something were majorly disappointed.

The playing style won few admirers. And results were rarely a lot better. When Marsch was sacked, Leeds were only outside the relegation zone on goal difference.

Nevertheless, it was clearly an incredibly painful moment for the 50-year-old. Speaking on Monday Night Football (broadcast on 19/2; 23:05), Marsch noted that he was unable to speak to the entire group after the decision was taken to let him go.

“Working with the players was fantastic. They fought and gave everything they had for me. I appreciated working with them, I really enjoyed the whole process and the team that we were becoming,” he said.

“And so, even earlier when I said I was heartbroken, really, it was really difficult for me to say goodbye. And I never did say goodbye to them, because I couldn’t. I couldn’t stand in front of them because I knew I’d break down. So I just individually dealt with a lot of them.”

Manager’s tenure was riddled with several what if moments

Where Marsch does deserve credit is that the job he was walking into was not an easy one. It says everything about how much we loved Marcelo Bielsa that fans were chanting his name at 4-0 down against a pretty average Tottenham team in what would prove to be his final game.

Marsch did well initially at giving Bielsa credit while also picking up the mood. But Leeds fans would be forgiven for thinking that our survival hopes would have been boosted had he gone during the World Cup break.

Those wins against Liverpool and Bournemouth appeared, from the outside, to save his job. And not giving another manager the January transfer window proved incredibly costly.