Jesse Marsch has told The Athletic that he is “proud” of the work he did at Leeds United after spending a year in charge of the club – but ultimately, failing to improve the Whites despite spending plenty of cash on new players.
Marsch took over from Marcelo Bielsa in February 2021 and lost his job a year later. He joined a Leeds side that were looking more and more likely to be relegated – but kept them up on the final day of the Premier League season.
Whether that was all down to Marsch, the players, or a mix of both – it is hard to tell. What is clear, is that Marsch should have taken Leeds away from a relegation battle this season. He spent plenty of money in the summer.
Indeed, Marsch was given free reign to bring in the players he knew and wanted – reuniting with Tyler Adams, Max Wober, Rasmus Kristensen and Brenden Aaronson. But it has not worked and Leeds now sit in 19th place.
However, Marsch says he feels proud of the work he did at Leeds. He says he actually misses being at Leeds, that feeling of togetherness and everyone pulling in the same direction – even if Patrick Bamford did question his tactics.
“The attention from every perspective, the magnifying glass on what happens in the Premier League is different than anywhere else. And how to manage that internally often will dictate your ability to create success,” he said.
“At our best moments, we did a really good job of that. Internally, we had a good feeling of what we were trying to achieve and togetherness and belief at Leeds. That part I miss. I was really proud of the way we worked together.”
Jesse Marsch proud of work he did at Leeds after year in charge
Well, it got off to a good start. He did what was needed, whether that was purely down to him remains to be seen. He brought in some exciting signings that might come good. But his stubbornness to change tact ruined him.
The lack of width, the unwillingness to play more pragmatically when it was desperately needed and his hyped up, overzealous press conferences started to grate on fans. He should have been sacked before the World Cup break.
