Fellow manager dismisses Marcelo Bielsa stereotype and hails 'success' of Leeds United's head coach

Paul Lambert has dismissed the argument over Marcelo Bielsa's lack of trophies believing the Leeds United boss has had a hugely successful career.

The Ipswich Town manager has come to the Argentine's defence after he admitted he had been studying the Whites head coach during the current suspension of football across Europe due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Bielsa has claimed three league championships in his career to date - won under Argentina’s two-titles-a-year system - and helped his home country to 2004 Olympic gold during his spell in charge of the Argentina national side.

Coaches across the world - such as Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino - believe Bielsa has been a leading light in his field having reinvented tactical approaches to the sport.

Critics, though, claim that the 63-year-old has failed to win as much as he should have but Lambert believes otherwise.

"I read an article and someone said that about him the other week," Lambert told talkSPORT.

"He won championships with Newell's Old Boys. The guy has actually been really, really successful and when you read a lot of the stuff - every player that plays for him raves about him.

"He has won titles in Argentina. It's not as if this guy hasn't won anything. He took the Argentina national team for six years. The job he is doing at Leeds is absolutely fantastic."

Lambert also admitted he was spending his free time reading up on Bielsa and several others.

"I'm reading Bielsa's book at the minute," he revealed.

"It's really interesting and very good reading. I quite like reading about the other managers, especially the big ones like Pep [Guardiola], Jurgen [Klopp] and Bielsa.

"Bielsa is a fascinating one. Pochettino too - fascinating guys and the backgrounds they've grown up with.

"I always think you can learn. It doesn't matter what you're reading. You're never too good to learn.

"You see those guys and the way they've come and done it. It's really interesting how they go about it."