Leeds United: Whites '˜in the pink' ahead of Championship trip to Norwich

MARCELO BIELSA and Barry Douglas say Norwich City's pink dressing room walls will have no bearing on Leeds United in Saturday's clash at Carrow Road, with Bielsa declaring no colour could weaken his Whites side's desire, writes LEE SOBOT.
Leeds United defender Barry Douglas.Leeds United defender Barry Douglas.
Leeds United defender Barry Douglas.

Norwich have taken the unusual step of painting the away side’s dressing room walls pink in an attempt to lower testosterone levels and weaken their opponents by making visiting teams feel more relaxed.

Whites head coach Bielsa and left-back Douglas both readily dismissed such claims in United’s pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s Championship clash at Carrow Road, with Bielsa even joking that his side would bring their own flags and papers to cover up Norwich’s unusual artwork.

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Asked if he felt such tricks and mind games could work, Bielsa reasoned: “The pink colour is linked to women.

Marcelo BielsaMarcelo Bielsa
Marcelo Bielsa

“For babies, when they are born, if it’s a boy we give them something blue and if it’s a girl something pink.

“Men can’t say that women are not a source of stimulation but the stimulation you have between a man and a woman happens when you have a relationship between a man and a woman.

“Before a game, you don’t have any colour that has the capacity to weaken the desire for competition. The pink colour is a meaningful colour in a relationship between a man and a woman but not before a game.”

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Bielsa then joked: “We told our equipment colleagues ... we told them to put some papers in the dressing room before we came.”

United’s Scottish international Douglas gave the idea similarly short shrift, saying: “That’s mind games. It’s a bit of psychology but as a professional you go into every game preparing the same way that you would prepare.

“I don’t think the colour of a wall is going to make a difference and certainly for me and I’m sure the whole squad, we will just be focusing on preparing the same way we normally do, regardless of the colour.”

Norwich recorded their first league victory of the new season through Wednesday night’s 2-0 success at home to Preston North End.