Championship Manager of the Month Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds United have 'turned up the heat' on promotion rivals

Marcelo Bielsa's perfect November and the high-octane football his Leeds United side are playing have been rewarded with the Sky Bet Championship Manager of the Month award.
Leeds captain Liam Cooper, left, and fitness coach Benoit Delaval, right, flank Championship Manager of the Month Marcelo Bielsa (Pic: Sky Bet)Leeds captain Liam Cooper, left, and fitness coach Benoit Delaval, right, flank Championship Manager of the Month Marcelo Bielsa (Pic: Sky Bet)
Leeds captain Liam Cooper, left, and fitness coach Benoit Delaval, right, flank Championship Manager of the Month Marcelo Bielsa (Pic: Sky Bet)

Bielsa's Whites picked up five wins from their five November fixtures, scoring 11 goals and conceding just twice.

The Argentine beat West Brom boss Slaven Bilic, Blackburn supremo Tony Mowbray and Fulham’s Scott Parker to the award.

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Danny Wilson, chair of the judging panel, lauded the style with which United have continued to dominate in the second tier.

He said: “Marcelo and his Leeds team have certainly turned the heat up on their Championship promotion rivals over the last few weeks.

“Marcelo has maintained that really rewarding high-tempo game we have been accustomed to when watching his team.

“With WBA and Fulham still hot on their heels, Leeds really have the bit between their teeth, and the upcoming festive fixtures promise to be exciting and intriguing in equal measure.”

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In typical Bielsa fashion, the United head coach took the opportunity to talk about the contribution of others at Thorp Arch and Elland Road.

“It coincides with a moment of the competition where Leeds have had an impact,” he said.

“It is linked with the production of the players of course and around the team there are a lot of people who go with the players.

“Recognising the manager is one way to recognise everybody who is helping the team, more than help, having some influence.

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“But of course more important is the input of the players. We know that every team has different periods in the competition, better and worse.”

One of the Leeds players who had a particularly good November was on-loan Manchester City winger Jack Harrison, who scored a goal and claimed an assist against Queens Park Rangers, before finding the net against Blackburn Rovers and Reading.

Harrison was nominated for Championship Player of the Month but lost out to Hull City’s Jarrod Bowen.