In the age of irresponsibility Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa is an alien - Graham Smyth

Last night’s game against Newcastle United at Elland Road was his 114th game in charge of Leeds United.

He has now managed the Whites for more games than any of his previous clubs or national sides and, thanks to this year’s promotion to the Premier League, ensconced himself in a select group of managers with legendary status at Elland Road.

No one will ever forget how he picked up a slumbering giant, drunk on failure and mediocrity, gave it a short, sharp shake and frogmarched it home.

Few will forget a style of football and an ethos he didn’t just introduce but indoctrinate, steeping Leeds from top to bottom, from first team to academy kids, in the art of the high press, man-to-man marking, third-man runs and cut backs.

When, in years to come, Leeds fans cast their minds back to this era, they will think of the football, the Championship title, the players he coached, inspired and elevated to capture it, the bucket he sat on and the principles he clung to no matter the circumstance or the intensity of the pressure.

Few will admit that during the mid-season slump of 2019/20, when Luke Ayling’s haunted, crestfallen face at the City Ground, represented the mood of an entire fanbase, that it was them to whom Bielsa was referring when he spoke of a loss of faith.

There was no blame attached to that statement, it was not an excuse for the side’s loss of form.

There has never been any blame attached to officiating, it has never been a referee’s fault – even when it plainly has – it has never been down to the mistakes of an individual player, errors in recruitment, the conditions, the fixture schedule, the pitch or the absence of fans.

“I prefer to take the responsibility for the mistakes than put the responsibility on another,” he said, outing himself as something of an oddity.

This is not the easy road, in life in general, never mind in football. The path of least resistance is to deflect, to nod ones head down the road and send the pitchfork-wielding masses in the direction of one more culpable.

In a job as cutthroat as football management, where your replacement is being lined up and touted by talkSPORT before you’ve had a chance to draw breath after a draw with Manchester City, self preservation is understandable.

We know what managers are doing when they suggest that the opposition were too good/direct/expensively assembled/cynical to be overcome, but we accept it because we don’t really expect someone to hold their hands up and take the blame.

If those in public office can stand their ground without shame in the face of scandal that would previously have brought on a good, old-fashioned statement, outside-the-front-gate resignation, why shouldn’t football people?

Owners do it too, convincing us it’s all the manager’s fault when their club is failing. Not me guv.

So, when Bielsa said it would be his fault alone if Arsenal loanee Eddie Nketiah failed to succeed at Leeds, when he admits he incorrectly distributed his players on the pitch and when he blames himself for defeats, it feels distinctly counter culture – a fun game to play is to Google ‘Marcelo Bielsa blames’ and contrast the results with those that pop up when you substitute his name for one of his Premier League peers.

Like writing a column in praise of a manager before a game, when its result might heap dismissive ridicule on the writer, it is folly to try and predict what Bielsa will say.

Is he encouraged that Leeds’ games have been closely contested? No, because they’ve lost 4-1 twice, 3-1 and could have lost more heavily to West Ham. Of course.

Was he over the moon with the vast improvement between that Forest defeat last season and the draw at Brentford that followed? No, because they played better at the City Ground. Obviously.

What you can guarantee is that when there is any blame to be apportioned, Bielsa will look only inwards.

That’s why, if this season becomes a real struggle or if set-pieces continue to be a thorn in the side, Leeds can continue to trust Bielsa.

Who better to fix the failings than the man who, because he assumes personal responsibility, understands them better than anyone.