'That can launch us' - every word from Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch's pre-Aston Villa press conference
Marsch’s Whites are swiftly back to Premier League action following Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Cardiff City in the FA Cup third round. Leeds fought back from 2-0 down to force a replay against the Bluebirds which will take place at Elland Road next Wednesday night.
But the bread and butter of the league comes first and Marsch is held his pre-match press conference at 12 noon at Thorp Arch today. Here is every word that was said by United’s American head coach.
Aston Villa v Leeds United: Jesse Marsch press conference every word
Key Events
- 12 noon press conference at Thorp Arch
- Leeds visit Villa in Friday night 8pm kick-off
For Jesse Marsch’s pre-Villa press conference today from Thorp Arch. Rutter and injuries latest top of the list.
Summerville out for a month
“The first thing is a reminder that I’m not speaking about transfers so don’t even bother. The second is injury updates. Patrick is back in training and will be in the squad so that’s really good news and Luis is getting closer and closer but not quite right ready and then Stuart and Archie and then the only other update is that Cree Summerville is out for a month now. The ankle injury and tackle he sustained in the Cardiff match is a little bit of a talking point for me because I think between Cree and Willy specifically that opponents have tried to bully them, that they have a hard time containing them specifically when they are on the move and the dribble and frankly I don’t think that the referees have protected those two players well enough and so it’s put them susceptible to injury and to tackles and I would like to see the referees protecting attacking players more so we’re a little disappointed that Cree will be out. He’s hopeful that it will be quicker than a month but that’s what the prognosis is right now.”
On Bamford being back, one potentially coming in who you don't want tio talk about, does this feel like the strongest pool of attacking players you have had since you have arrived? Could they be the difference makers?
“I feel like if we had everybody healthy and we could really commit to the development path of those individuals like we’ve seen with Willy and Rodri where they have been for the most part healthy for a long stretch and when Cree was healthy that you can then start to see the progress that they can make. If you were to go through and say alright that you have Rodri and Patrick and Joffy and then you have Luis and Cree and Willy and then Jack and Brenden and then you and then you add the young players then you start to feel like you have a really good complement of attacking pieces and the chance to push attacking wise.”
Will you have some decisions to make this month in terms of streamlining those options and letting one or two go out on loan to get first team football - the likes of Joffy?
“I don’t want to talk specifically about incoming or outgoing transfers but when we’re talking about squad building, it’s always trying to figure out how to get every player the minutes that he needs to develop and then the discussion is is he better here with the 21s, is it better here with the first team or is it better on loan. Those are always open discussions and we try to be really honest and open with our players and then help them to make decisions that are best for them in their career.”
How important is this next phase of the season in putting distance between Leeds and the bottom three?
“In general I think we wanted a good start because we want to just be able to steadily get better and grow and that’s one of the things that has been the most difficult is to really jump start development as a group. I think there’s a lot of individuals that have grown a lot throughout the process, but as a group it still hasn’t come together the way that I would like and the lack of consistency from match to match and then in match, what a first half and what a second half can look like or vice versa, it means that we’re not able to really push this the way that I would want so that we don’t have to talk about the table. But, that’s where we area And it’s my job to figure out how to help the group improve in that way and that’s what I’m constantly trying to do is help create more and more clarity and understanding for what roles are and how to execute our matchday so that’s ultimately what will be the goal again for Villa and to do it in a way where we can also hunt the result.”
What about the pathway for players like Cresswell - what sort of future do they have?
“I really like Charlie. I think his mentality is amazing. Lewis Bate, Dan James, we could talk about all of them and every situation is a little bit different and all the players that we have under in and under our umbrella, in general, we keep them in our umbrella because we like them and we think they have potential for the future but then situations arise, there’s financial pressures, there’s needs for players and discussions with agents and interest from other teams and then you always just have to manage things internally the way that you think is best.”
On Wober
“He is still young and he has to establish himself in the team but he has a very high leadership of what his leadership can be.”