Leeds United v Newcastle United: Every word Marcelo Bielsa said in his pre-match press conference

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Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa is facing the media ahead of the Whites' Premier League clash with Newcastle United at Elland Road on Saturday.

Leeds will hunt their third consecutive league win when they host fellow strugglers Newcastle this weekend.

The Whites have made a storming start to 2022, claiming a 3-1 victory over relegation rivals Burnley before beating West Ham 3-2 in a thrilling encounter at the London Stadium last weekend.

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Now, United face another important clash against 19th-placed Toon.

Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa. Pic: Mike Hewitt.Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa. Pic: Mike Hewitt.
Leeds United head coach Marcelo Bielsa. Pic: Mike Hewitt.

Already nine points clear of the drop zone, things are looking much brighter than they have been for Bielsa's men and a win on Saturday would put further daylight between the Whites and the dreaded dotted line.

A victory for the visitors, meanwhile, would lift Newcastle out of the drop zone.

Bielsa will be speaking to the media at 1pm on Thursday and you can follow everything the Whites boss said with our live blog below.

Leeds United v Newcastle United - Marcelo Bielsa press conference LIVE

Key Events

  • Marcelo Bielsa will face the media at 1pm
  • The Whites will take on the Magpies at Elland Road on Saturday in 3pm kick-off

While we wait, take a look back at at historic head-to-head...

Marcelo Bielsa takes his seat.

Your side has recorded back-to-back wins in the league at a time when the squad is heavily depleted - how much satisfaction does it give you, as a coach, that you have created a mentality in the club that is able to overcome such adversity?

The difficulty, sometimes they are interpreted as obstacles, but sometimes it’s a situation to fortify the strength of the group. Up until now in the season, we’ve been constantly challenged, and we try to improve the quality of our responses in the face of adversity.

Do you feel postponement has been abused this season and are you surprised that more clubs haven’t used youth?

I don’t think so, but it’s not important what I think. The important thing is to trust those who administer the rules in that sense. Because there’s rules that define whether a game or cannot be suspended, and the condition you have to demonstrate for the game to be suspended, and because I trust in those who administer these decisions, and so I trust that when games were suspended, they met the criteria for them to be suspended. The question is not do the clubs take advantage of the rules, but it’s the question of if those who evalute them do well or badly. For a club to take advantage, there has to be an evaluation that was wrong or mistaken, because the rules have to be sufficiently clear.

Will you have any players back for the Newcastle and in particular, how are Forshaw and Bamford?

Forshaw and Firpo have muscular injuries. Bamford has a new injury at the bottom of his foot. He’s overcome his muscular problems but now he has an issue at the bottom of his foot.

Are the Firpo and Forshaw issues hamstring-related?

Are you pushing to have the Aston Villa game rearranged for what would be the FA Cup fourth round weekend?

I don’t have a capacity to pick when the games are rearranged. They’re not decisions that I make.

In your opinion as a coach, would it be better for them to be played sooner rather than later?

Whatever the authorities say. Coaches don’t have the opportunity to decide when the games are played because that does allow for speculation.

Can you tell me what you know about Brenden Aaronson and why he would be suitable for the way you play?

I prefer to speak about the player when it’s not a hypothetical possibility but when he’s actually our player.

How different a proposition are Newcastle United now, having signed two players?

With respect to the players that they’ve brought in, their positions are very specific. A right full-back and a centre-forward. It’s their centre-forward who comes to replace the player who usually plays in that position. They’re both classic centre-forwards, even if they have different characteristics, they both play as centre-forwards. The same with their right full-back, who plays at different heights down the right hand side. Those two signings are, from my point of view - and only with the rush to answer your question - because it is very difficult to interpret the opponent’s coach, and it is also inconvenient - but from my point of view, the players don’t alter the way Newcastle play, but the individualities who enrich a squad.

Is this the worst spell of injuries that you’ve encounter in your managerial career?

Not with so many players, but it is very intriguing. Not so much how many injuries, but that the players who are injured are those who play in similar positions. In some way, we’ve always found solutions. It’s likely that for the game on the weekend that we’re going to recover Rodrigo, Roberts and Gelhardt. So the players out of the squad in that position are going to be Patrick Bamford and Sam Greenwood. Progressively, we have been resolving the situations that present themselves. The same with the absence of Pascal, Cooper, Diego, Koch. We’ve been resolving them with the contribution of Ayling as a centre-back and Koch as a defensive mid when he has been healthy, Forshaw as a defensive mid. It’s also true that all the clubs have problems with counting on all of their players.

How do you view the relegation battle - are Leeds still in it?

We have to see how many points are in play, see what games the other teams have. You have to see in the succession of results which see tendencies - positive or negative - of each team. So after half of the season has passed, to discard any evolution or involution of each team it is not convenient, especially in a league that is so difficult.

Is this the best that you have seen Raphinha play in a Leeds United shirt?

No, he’s had many games where he has shone. The many actions where he has imbalanced in lots of games. To say that this was his best game in a Leeds shirt, I don’t have it so clear, but he has a player who it is easy to remember his goals, assists, dribbles, and good performances.

What do you make of Eddie Howe’s start as Newcastle United manager from afar?

He’s found a system, a habitual group of players, an eleven which repeats itself regularly, and he’s evened the team out in all of the games, they have been close to every opponent in all of the games they’ve played. This all talks positively about the job that he is doing.

How important is the relationship between yourself, Marcelo, and Victor Orta, and what is the worth of a Director of Football to a football club?

Moreover than my opinion, there’s evidence of the growth of Leeds United since Victor Orta has been here. The teams are produced through the individualities. In that sense, he has picked well. I think he’s found the adequate players that adapt to the way of playing of Leeds. The majority of them are young, and the players that have arrived here are usually worth more after they’ve been here. That means he’s picked players with a margin of growth, a potential to be better. He’s a person who knows the market very well with regard to young players and different countries. He’s picked young players who are very good. Just to name a few - Pascal, Gelhardt, Hjelde. All of these things, you don’t need me to describe them because I’m describing things that you can see in reality.

What do you think the experience of featuring as Premier League substitute is like for 15-year-old Archie Gray, and what do you see in him?

What has happened to him has been premature. I don’t think it’s good for a player of his age to occupy the space that he has, and have these opportunities. If I could have avoided it, I would have done it. The players, we have to put them in positions where they can assume the problems or possibilities that arise, and obviously Gray is not prepared to compete in the Premier League. But the reality took him to be there deservedly. Every time I form a group for the squad, I always pick the best of those available. Of course, he is a player that is full of virtues. In spite of being so young, he can compete. But clearly his process has been altered to get to be an elite player. He has the resources to achieve it, he will achieve it. He is very, very strong mentally. He has the conditions, the qualities to play in every sector of the pitch. Apart from that, he is a player who is very intelligent. I ignore what his life is, usually, but given how he behaves with us on a day to day basis I can see that his education is really well-controlled.

What has the mood been in the Leeds camp this week, have you seen a brightness in your players following positive results?

The next game is always the next thing on our minds. But it is true that a victory like that always improves the mood. To prepare a game with the tranquility of a victory is better than doing it without, but the most important thing is always the next game. To have won the last game doesn’t give you any guarantees in the next one. To lose the next one is to take away some of the shine of the previous victory. So we always try to lean on what happened but always looking forward to the next.

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