Jesse Marsch took over from Marcelo Bielsa in February 2022 but he lasted just 37 games in charge at Leeds United – and the American has explained what shocked him when he first met the squad.
The American has been incredibly active of late on podcasts and in interviews as he perhaps, looks to re-enter the world of management. This week, he’s been speaking to Simon Jordan’s Up Front podcast.
It comes after he failed to win the race for the Birmingham City job, reaching the last three along with Paul Heckingbottom before the Blues hired Tony Mowbray – after sacking manager Wayne Rooney.
Marsch played a part in keeping Leeds in the Premier League on the final day of 2021-22, but Leeds – under Marsch’s guidance, tactics and signings – were destined for the drop last term. It proved to be.
He claims the board told him there was an 84% chance of relegation. Marsch has said Bielsa overtrained the Leeds players and he eludes to it here, shocked when he met the “gaunt” players for the first time.
“Normally when you see players play on television and teams they look like men, strong, they look like they are in the right environment physically but when you meet them in person, they are still young men.
“It was the opposite when I went to Leeds. They looked gaunt, they looked tired, defeated, they looked like a group who was going to take a lot to recover to be what I wanted them to be,” Marsch continued.
“The first feeling I had when I saw them together and up close was that this task is going to be way more difficult than I imagined. I also realised that we needed to create a level of calmness and belief,” he said.
Jesse Marsch shares what he noticed when he met Leeds squad
The Leeds players looked unfit towards the end of the campaign and even Luke Ayling said that the squad was lacking fitness, after a 3-1 loss at West Ham. Marsch is shifting blame from the main issue.
Himself. Marsch is to blame for our relegation. He inherited a squad that finished ninth under Bielsa, and while it needed rejuvenating – he ripped it up and his signings were awful. No fight, no quality, no loyalty.
Marsch’s central tactics failed, his substitutions poor, his recruitment woeful and his press conferences – bizarre. That craziness is being seen again as he does circles in the media. Marsch is to blame.
Receive a digest of our best Leeds content each week direct to your mailbox
