Leeds United transfer news: Leeds ‘step in’ with potential raid for international star, Club will find it ‘extremely hard’ to snub Whites swoop

Jesse Marsch has challenged Leeds United to do more than just survive this season.

The first three weeks of the American‘s time in charge at Elland Road has brought a pair of defeats but two hugely significant victories.

What’s more, Leeds’ performance in their narrow loss at Leicester, along with the fight and character they showed to beat Norwich City and come back from two goals down to defeat European hopefuls Wolves, has given them momentum ahead of the final eight games.

The 3-2 comeback at Molineux created a seven-point gap between Leeds and 18th-placed Watford.

Speaking ahead of the international break, Marsch reaffirmed his belief that he’s in the right job, regardless of the difficulty Leeds were in when he arrived. Despite the wins and the breathing space they have given themselves, with a small squad continuing to creak under the weight of injuries and uncertainty lingering over the fitness of key players, Marsch knows they remain in a scrap for their Premier League lives.

“I like being the underdog,” he said.

“I like having to fight for things. I like not taking anything for granted. I like having my back against the wall. I don’t know why. It’s easier to be the other way around I think but, that I identify with. I tried to say that without being condescending in my first press conference that where I’m from, I should never be here. I’m not afraid of it. I want to be here, I believe it’s the right place for me. And I’m finding that out more and more every day. So I’m really again thankful for the opportunity to be attached to this club.”

He added: “I just want us to stay true and stay calm to our process to push ourselves every day, to growing to getting better, to finding a way to control what we can control,” he said.

“And if we do that, I believe we have the quality of people and of players that we can control our own destiny and find a way to not just - and this is another thing I’ve challenged them to do - not just survive the situation but thrive in it. Thrive in it. That’s the goal.”

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