How Javi Gracia is getting more out of Leeds United's Marc Roca after Man of the Match display

The Spaniard has divided opinion since arriving from FC Bayern Munchen last summer but on a mild, spring evening nine-and-a-half months on from his initial signing, Roca produced a performance even his harshest critics could not find fault with.

Privately hopeful of a first international call-up last month, Roca was one of the eight-or-nine senior players who remained in situ at Thorp Arch while the rest of the squad went away with their countries.

A post-World Cup changing of the guard for La Roja saw former Under-21 boss Luis de la Fuente – with whom Roca won the European Championships in 2019 – accede to the Royal Spanish Football Federation (RFEF)’s throne. But, the call did not come.

While Roca may have been overlooked for March’s squad, De la Fuente could hardly have ignored the midfielder’s latest Premier League display.

A midweek fixture at Elland Road has the potential to be even more cacophonous than usual. The darkness makes the fans seem closer; the floodlit turf accentuating there is nowhere to hide.

Going down to an early Orel Mangala goal could have seen Leeds crumble under the immense pressure of the situation they are currently faced with; Forest’s 12th minute opener saw Leeds drop to 19th in the table.

Instead, the Whites' response made Javi Gracia purr with pride in his post-match press conference, less than two months on from a listless display against the same opposition.

At the heart of Leeds’ turnaround on Tuesday night was Roca, paired alongside Weston McKennie in central midfield. The Spain hopeful completed passes with urgency, contributed to attacking moves, created chances, tackled, carried and for Leeds’ equalising goal, stung the palms of Keylor Navas with a long-range drive which the Costa Rican could only parry into the path of an exceedingly grateful Jack Harrison.

Roca was signed as a progressive player and has illustrated that throughout this season, but at times in previous systems and tactical setups, has found himself not quite at the required pace to play high-intensity, vertical football where centrality is prioritised.

Under Javi Gracia, Roca has the freedom to use the entirety of the pitch to pick passes left and right. Leeds’ tendency to use greater width also plays into Roca’s favour, stretching opponents such as Forest who sat deep and were pulled to-and-fro by the interchangeably inverted wide pairing of Luis Sinisterra and Harrison.

In a game like Tuesday’s, eventually passing lanes open up and Roca has demonstrated an ability to find those passes, in a style not too dissimilar to how Ben White would stride out of defence in Leeds’ promotion campaign and play a midfield-splitting pass into the feet of Patrick Bamford.

On numerous occasions, Roca would identify the run of Sinisterra or Bamford dropping off the last line of Forest’s defence to hold up possession. In executing these passes, the Spaniard circumvented several opposition bodies, breaking lines and taking names. It was not just in build-up phases, though, that Roca’s vision was able to excommunicate Forest men from a passage of play, putting them on the back foot.

In transition, Roca recognised the benefit of going long, stretching the defence vertically, as well as horizontally with sweeping, diagonal passes out to the flanks.

An argument made by Roca’s detractors has been that the 26-year-old is not urgent enough for the speed of a Premier League game, which may only have been true for the chaotic, transition-heavy style of Gracia’s predecessor. When Leeds exhibit greater control of possession, and consequently the game, Roca’s languid manner is not so exposed.

As with any central midfielder in the Premier League, constant scanning of one’s surroundings is essential, and against Forest the Spaniard was a beacon of awareness. During the second half on Tuesday night, McKennie passed the ball to Roca under pressure, but reading the danger and having scanned to pick out where space had opened up, the Spaniard adjusted his body shape to receive possession whilst shielding the ball from Remo Freuler, before turning into space in one smooth motion. It was emblematic of an individual playing with confidence.

Conviction in one’s own ability is crucial even at the highest level but remains an unquantifiable, largely intangible element when assessing performances. What can be surmised from Roca’s most recent display is that runs such as the one he made in the 34th minute, getting the better of central defender Felipe near the byline and crossing for Bamford in the six-yard box, would scarcely have occurred if he were not playing with faith in the fullness of his abilities.

Above all, what Leeds’ victories over Southampton, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Steve Cooper’s Forest will do is instil confidence within the group. In the six short weeks since Gracia’s arrival, Roca, Junior Firpo and Weston McKennie have all produced their most complete performances of the campaign. Any correlation will be hard to prove, or disprove, but the evidence is there in black-and-white: ten points from an available 18, improved collective and individual performances and greater satisfaction among those on the terraces towards the style of play.

Roca’s Man of the Match display against Forest – and Leeds’ position in the table by the end of the night – were by-products, symptoms of something much more important: Leeds trending in the right direction.

And who knows? Perhaps consistency under one Spanish coach might lead to recognition by another.