Leeds United captain Liam Cooper admits he's sick of 'spygate' talk ahead of Stoke City clash

Cooper said he and United’s players were ready to “move on” from the controversy which arose after Bielsa sent a member of staff to watch Derby County train last week.

Bielsa’s scout was stopped by police outside Derby’s training ground 24 hours before County lost 2-0 at Elland Road on Friday, prompting investigations by both the Football Association and the EFL.

United’s head coach made a remarkable attempt to combat claims that he had gained an unfair advantage by spying with an 66-minute long presentation of his analysis techniques to journalists at Thorp Arch on Wednesday night.

The 63-year-old said he had arranged the session and opened the detail of his information for public viewing to make the EFL and FA investigations “easier”, saying: “I don't need to go to watch a training session of an opponent to know how the opponent plays.”

The saga overshadowed Leeds’ compelling victory over Derby, a result which pushed the club four points clear at the top of the Championship.

From Steven Gerrard to Neil Warnock - what opposition mangers have said about Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds United's 'spygate' sagaCooper, who will lead United at Stoke City tomorrow, insisted Bielsa’s players had been unaffected by the fall-out from ‘Spygate’ and defended Bielsa as “one of the best coaches in the world.”

Bielsa, as he had before Leeds' FA Cup defeat to Queens Park Rangers, took the unusual step of telling the media his full line-up for the trip to Stoke, in another riposte to attacks on his integrity.

“It’s just normal for us,” Cooper said. “To be honest, I’m sick of hearing about all that now. We’ve got a big game to worry about on Saturday, to take one more step in the right direction.

“All this is put to bed for the players. It’s all over with and I think that’s why Marcelo did the conference - to put it all to bed. Let’s talk about football. We’ve got 19 massive games coming up and it’s not going to be easy. We’re preparing properly.”

Bielsa’s breakdown of his analytical process gave a unique insight into the depth of his research. The former Argentina and Chile coach revealed that analysis of Derby alone had taken almost 300 hours and said his staff had already reviewed every game which new Stoke boss Nathan Jones handled as Luton Town manager this season. Jones left Luton for Stoke nine days ago.

What we learned from Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa's amazing 'spygate' briefingBielsa claimed much of the information gleaned was “useless” but Cooper said: “It’s massive. Going into a game you can have different factors which disorientate you or make you better. All this information helps us. Like Marcelo said, it gets rid of that anxiety of not doing it.

“The attention to detail is something else. We go on to the pitch with not one excuse. It’s great going into games without that one extra doubt in your mind, that a team could come up with something that surprises us. So far this season no-one has.”

Cooper also credited Leeds’ table-topping form to Bielsa, saying: “One hundred per cent. You’re in the presence of the same group of players (as last season) getting coached by one of the best coaches in the world.

“We couldn’t believe it when the club went and got him. He’s an unbelievable man and a nice man as well.

“The league speaks for itself. The league doesn’t lie. We’ve won the most games and we’ve lost the least but 19 games left is a hell of a lot and there’s plenty up for grabs.”