Alex Neil reveals what impresses him most about Leeds United and Marcelo Bielsa ahead of Preston clash

Preston North End head coach Alex Neil. (Getty)

United got back to winning ways in the Championship on Saturday afternoon as they swept Birmingham City aside at Elland Road thanks to a second half strike from Kalvin Phillips amid special centenary celebrations.

The Lilywhites themselves fell to defeat at Reading as Matt Miazga struck in the eighth minute of added time for the Royals.

Just two points now separate the teams in a packed top end of the Championship table ahead of the midweek clash at Deepdale, with Leeds hot on the tails of early pace setters West Bromwich Albion.

Neil, though, admits that he has been impressed by what he has seen from Bielsa’s men so far in the campaign, and has picked out the one area where he believes the Whites excel more than most in the second tier.

“Leeds play with as much width as any team I have seen at this level,” said Neil.

“They have a full-back on one touchline and one on the other, then two wide players on each touchline.

“That is easy to set up but what’s difficult is having your players that far apart and still retaining the ball with real quality.

“A lot of teams bring their players close together so your passes are only five to six yards or 10-12 yards, rather than having to be 20-40 yards.

“Leeds do both sides of the game well.

“Probably the one facet they would like to better is the conversion of chances.

“They are number one for shots in the league.

“Leeds have more possession than most teams they play against, they are just a dangerous team.

“They get the ball back, they are hungry, aggressive and just a good side in every aspect apart from conversion of chances.”

Asked about Bielsa and his qualities as a head coach, he added: “It is not necessarily the depth of research he does on opponents, it is more the understanding his players have of their roles.

“They have a lot of players who have played at this level for a long time and they have been decent players.

“But I think a lot of them now are better than decent players.”