Jesse Marsch's first Leeds United press conference every word: Bielsa, Bamford, Phillips, 49ers

New Leeds United head coach Jesse Marsch is facing the media today ahead of Saturday's Premier League trip to Leicester City and you can follow full coverage here.
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Former RB Leipzig boss Marsch was confirmed as United's new head coach on Monday evening, less than 36 hours after the Whites had sacked Marcelo Bielsa following three and a half years in charge.

The promotion-winning boss was axed following Saturday's 4-0 loss at home to Tottenham, a fourth-straight defeat taking United's recent return to just one point from their last six fixtures and 20 goals conceded in the last five games.

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Leeds sit fifth-bottom in the Premier League table, two points clear of the drop zone, and a trip to 12th-placed Leicester is first on the agenda for United's new head coach this Saturday lunchtime.

Jesse Marsch, pictured during an open training session at Leeds United. Picture: Getty.Jesse Marsch, pictured during an open training session at Leeds United. Picture: Getty.
Jesse Marsch, pictured during an open training session at Leeds United. Picture: Getty.

New boss Marsch will be facing the press for the first time as Whites boss at 1pm and you can follow everything that is said at our live blog here.

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Jesse Marsch press conference - EVERY WORD

Key Events

  • Marsch’s first press conference as Whites head coach
  • Marsch facing the media at 1pm
  • Leeds away at Leicester City on Saturday lunchtime

What to expect from Jesse Marsch’s first Whites press conference

Fifteen minutes to go

Until Jesse Marsch faces the press as Leeds United head coach for the first time. All the news to follow here.

A new era at Leeds...

How are you settling in and how much are you looking forward to the job ahead?

“I would say the last week has been a bit of a whirlwind and I have taken over enough manager roles in enough places to know that in the first couple of days there can be a million things on your mind and then over time things slow down a little bit and that you can start to understand how you can help whatever team that you are going to be working with and get to know the club, the people, the players. I would say that the adaptation process here has been incredibly smooth because the people are so amazing., everything from working with Victor Orta and Angus Kinnear to what it’s been like here in our training centre and working with other people around the team and then the players. Honestly, I have worked with some incredible teams and good young men and this group here is remarkable so it gives me big hope that we can adapt to things quickly and that I can help them be successful.”

“In all moments, what will be apparent with me is that I will always be respectful of what has happened here in the past three and a half years because of the accomplishments that the club has had, because of the type of coach that Marcelo. But I can say that even talking to Victor Orta, he felt like I was the right type of person to come here and take over the team and help it make the next steps and I think that my way of communicating and having relationships, and I can only speak about what it has been like with each individual and then what video sessions have been like and how attentive the team has been, how much they are eager to try to adapt to learn quickly. Obviously because we know we we don’t have a lot of time and we have to find success quickly but also I think it’s so much more than that, it’s about the character of the players and the character of the people here so, again, that makes me optimistic.”

What will your backroom staff bring to the club?

“Staring with Frankie Schiemer, we know each other really well, he is very connected with me in terms of what our philosophy is and what our playing style is, how to implement it day by day so I think clearly that will be a big advantage. Cameron Toshack is the type of person who is very observant, understands how to inject himself the right way and understands the kind of tactics and ideas that we have behind our football and he has a good way of relating with people. And I can tell you that it has only been wo days that I have worked with Mark Jackson but it’s like we have known each other for years. Jacko is an amazing guy, he is very flexible and adaptable. He reminded me, which I didn’t know, that we had played against each other. Leeds took a summer trip I think for pre-season to America in 1997, a long time ago. Apparently he remembers that and we played against each other. I asked him if I had followed at any point because I was kind of good at that but he said he couldn’t remember that much!”

What pressure is there to hit the ground running given the position the club finds itself in?

“Honestly, pressure is what you make of it. I understand that this is a big league and a big moment and that we have to find ways to get points, to get results, that this club deserves to be in the Premier League, I understand all those things . But if I focus on that it doesn’t help anybody or help me to do the job and my entire focus is on what we can control and what is important for us to get us to where we think we deserve to be. It’s about the daily work, it’s about investing in the process here, it’s about investing in the people and the players and helping them understand how they can be at their at their best and I think a big part of my job right now is instilling confidence in the group that the way that I want to help this team move forward is the way they can help us to where we want to be and how to communicate that every day. It’s a very positive start but still a lot of work to do.”

Team news - Bamford, Phillips and Cooper latest

“I can only tell you that on Monday I came here and met with the medical team and they introduced a whole myriad of injury situations to me. And there has been a little bit of a cycle here where guys have been fighting through injuries and often playing with injuries and it means that they have sometimes picked up other injuries and put themselves more in danger of missing minutes and so what I need to do is help guys recover as quickly as possible but not endanger them and not overload them to put them in situations to further be endangered and then make sure that we have a long term vision in place for what that is going to mean. I have said this before, it’s 12 games, it’s not three games or four games right and I know that we need points but we need to make sure that we are getting stronger as we move along and not weaker. On that note, Patrick Bamford was in training today. Kalvin and Liam are both making progress, they won’t be ready for the weekend but they are on the pitch, they are working every day and they are getting closer and closer to being in team training. And then we have a bunch of other guys who have missed a little bit of training this week and we trying to evaluate where the risks and rewards of all the different players and how many minutes are appropriate for them to be able to perform on Saturday.”

“I appreciate that the club was so convinced by me that they were willing to make a long term commitment. When I was considering what my next options were it wasn’t about what was my biggest opportunity from a financial perspective, it wasn’t about what was the biggest club I could possibly find to work with, it was about finding people that I felt cared about the same things that I care about and I felt that in the last weeks and months talking to different people that had been associated with this club and after being here for three days, which it’s hard to believe that three and a half days, I can say that in a very difficult situation it’s been a joy. The project is three months and then we have to start some processes now but know that the real development process will start taking place a little bit more in the summer but that we build a foundation for what is important now and, again, focusing on what is more important now is more about making sure that game to game that we improve, that we are clearer and clearer and that we can fight in every second and every moment for as many point as we can.”

Who has stood out as leaders here?

“There has been a bunch of great young men, speaking with Liam Cooper and Luke Ayling, it’s easy to see that they are comfortable in front of the group, that they are comfortable in leadership roles. I think Adam Forshaw has also been fantastic, there is a guy like Patrick Bamford that has a lot of personality. I want to challenge Kalvin Phillips to take a bigger role within the team and he is obviously so important, getting him healthy but also getting him to take a bigger role in the team will I think be massively important as well. Stuart Dallas, for me, is one of the hardest workers and strongest young men who is clear with himself and clear with how to work for team every day. Rodrigo is an an intelligent young man who wants to help in every way and then there is a lot of positive energy in a lot of the young guys and a lot of what I have done in my managerial career is about managing young players and helping them achieve their highest potential so I have excitement in this group and excitement to be here.”

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