Why Marcelo Bielsa will never alter Leeds United's intense attacking style

Marcelo Bielsa has reaffirmed his stance of remaining true to his attacking belief at Elland Road and says he won't waiver from his style no matter the circumstances that may face his Leeds United side.
Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa.Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa.
Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa.

United host second-placed Norwich City this weekend with just three points separating the two teams at the top of the Championship table with 17 games to go.

Bielsa and Canaries head coach Daniel Farke have been praised for their differing attacking styles which have seen the pair fire themselves right into thick of a Premier League promotion race.

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The Whites won the reverse fixture 3-0 in August at Carrow Road but a tighter affair is expected this time around with United looking to tighten their grip on top spot today when the sides finally come to blows at Elland Road.

Bielsa, who is known for never deviating from his no holds barred intense style, reiterated his belief once more that he will always stick to his game plan no matter the opposition or situation dictates.

"Absolutely not," he said of opting for a different style ahead of the showdown in LS11.

"I’m going to tell you why. It’s so hard to draw the style of a team and it takes so long. At the same time it’s too unstable, but when you think about switching the style, if you could change the style, it means it’s because the style is not strong enough.

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"If you can change something easily it means it was not hard to build it. I never think about changing the style. I’d rather focus on correcting and improving what we’re doing.

"With the constant solicitations of alternative plans, especially when you are losing, for me, these kinds of solicitations deserve this kind of response. The response is you have to correct what is not well done, but you can’t change the style."

One of the myths that has followed the 63-year-old throughout his career is that his sides historically suffer burnout due to the demands he imposes on his usually tight-knit squad over the course of a campaign.

Bielsa's step into management in the Championship will result in him overseeing one of the longest league campaigns of his career to date as United play out a 46 game season under his watchful eye.

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The Argentine admitted though that he couldn't yet given a definite answer on the topic believing that it will only become clear over his teams ability to last once United reach the business end of a gruelling season.

"The answer only has value if we can verify it," he continued. "You would imagine the only answer I can give you is to tell you ‘yes we will.’ We will know the truth, if we were right or wrong, only in May."