• Most importantly, at Leicester’s King Power Stadium on Saturday, even in defeat Marsch demonstrated that he and Leeds United might just be good for each other.
• “I know how hard this group works and how hard they work together on the pitch and want to make the fans proud. What I also learned was how intelligent they are," said Marsch.
Image: REUTERS
There has been a joke doing the rounds among Leeds fans this week that Jesse Marsch’s first interviews as manager have felt like meeting your mum’s new boyfriend.
The American has certainly been on the charm offensive as he begins the daunting task of ingratiating himself to a fan base still pining for their football father figure Marcelo Bielsa.
In Marsch’s welcome video he spoke of the things he and the supporters have in common, of demanding his players “fight for the fans and each other” — music to the ears of those who have Billy Bremner’s mantra ‘Side over self, every time’ running through them like a stick of rock.
He also explained he is not here to replace his predecessor in their affections and instead wants to build a fruitful relationship with them all of his own. In fact, he went so far as to suggest Bielsa should have been allowed to see the season out given all the Argentine achieved in his three and a half years in charge.
Most importantly, at Leicester’s King Power Stadium on Saturday, even in defeat Marsch demonstrated that he and Leeds United might just be good for each other.
To many, that will be all that matters. For Bielsa’s debut as Leeds boss — a 3-1 home win over Stoke on 5 August 2018 — Whites fans had never witnessed such a gulf between their then low expectations and the lofty performance to which they were treated.
Plodding, directionless football was replaced by purpose, poise and pressing by players unrecognisable from just a few weeks earlier.
Saturday’s bow for Marsch was nowhere near as mind-blowing. How could it be? And it ultimately yielded no points at a time when Leeds are desperate for them to ease the defensive deficiencies and relegation concerns that cost Bielsa his job.
What it did showcase was an evolution of style — the high-pressing remained but a 4-1-4-1 gave way to a 4-2-2-2 with two inverted wingers as part of four fluid attacking players looking to feed off more direct forward passes through the middle.
It posed Leicester all manner of problems and would likely have yielded a win had the visitors been able to take a couple of the 19 efforts they had at goal.
In addition, they looked far more solid at the back after a month in which they had conceded 20 times in just five games.
“I’ve learned that our sport maybe sometimes isn’t the fairest,” said Marsch after the game. “I will not say we were the better team, but what I will say is I am very pleased that after four days there was such clarity and we were able to execute in every aspect of the game.
“I know how hard this group works and how hard they work together on the pitch and want to make the fans proud. What I also learned was how intelligent they are.
“They were able to take our video sessions and work on the training pitch and after four days put in a performance like that against a tough opponent. I am positive even though I am disappointed with the result and we need to use this to propel us to get better and better.
“If we find the first goal, it is a different kind of match. So just a bit sharper in the final third, a bit clearer in the relationships and also a bit of luck and maybe we find ourselves a lead and some points.
“But what a great first step. If we keep playing like this we will get all the points we need.
“There are so many positive things to take. The only negative is the result.”
What has stuck most firmly in the craw of Whites supporters this week is the manner of Bielsa’s departure — his tenure terminated on Sunday after a 4-0 defeat by Tottenham the day before.
The sacking felt to many like a betrayal of the integrity, decency and loyalty with which the Argentine carries himself and from which the club has so eagerly drawn as he led them back to the top flight and fundamentally altered them for the better.
The 66-year-old is back in Argentina now, but his presence was projected by the away end at King Power Stadium — his face adorning banners and scarves, his name sung throughout.
Marsch was aware enough before Saturday to recognise that the expected songs in support of Bielsa were not a jibe at him. Indeed, there were also chants for Marsch coming from the away end. The American has past experience of filling big shoes at RB Leipzig and suffered initial hostility before proving the doubters wrong at Salzburg.
At full-time, the American gathered his players in the centre circle to offer encouraging words, an early display of a more tactile approach than they had experienced under his predecessor.
“It was a real simple message,” Marsch said of the huddle. “That this was very positive and a big step in the right direction. I need to feed them the right information and be positive but not just for the sake of being positive. I want them to know how strong that was and how good that was and we will use it as momentum to get better.”
This week offers two opportunities to further demonstrate their progress — home games against Aston Villa and Norwich from which they must take points as well as plaudits.