A pesky pest - Leeds United's joker in the pack Gjanni Alioski is deadly serious when it comes to Marcelo Bielsa's demands

The North Macedonian international has spent two years at Elland Road since joining from FC Lugano.

READ: Leeds United's three-word mantra and how there is no opponent

His well documented antics; shaking the tunnel as teams line up before games, seeking out the Leeds United TV cameras at any given opportunity, pressing his head against an opponent’s backside to shepherd him to safety and sending good-natured ribbing in ex Whites defender Aapo Halme’s direction before kick-off at Oakwell, have made him a hugely popular figure with fans.

Whether or not Halme quite appreciated hearing ‘Aapo are you nervous, you don’t say hello man?’ in front of his new team-mates, the Leeds players appeared to enjoy it.

Unsurprisingly, it went down a treat with supporters.

And the glee in Alioski’s face showed just how pleased he was with his own wit.

The viral videos capture behaviour that more than verges on unusual and his relentless pursuit of laughter.

What they don’t show is the relentless running he does during games, the waspish nature he assumes both in attack and defence.

It would not be entirely accurate to say he’s all business when he steps over the white line, some of his madcap moments have come during games.

For opponents, he is a pesky pest.

For Leeds, he’s all in.

His head coach, Marcelo Bielsa, has commented on the 27-year-old’s ‘enthusiasm’ that characterises his play.

Alioski himself says he is fueled by the pride he feels each and every time he pulls on a Leeds United shirt.

“Every game I play for Leeds I am proud,” he said.

“It makes you happy to play for this club.

“To have 100 games, thanks Leeds.

“I hope for another hundred.”

His own personal eccentricities may have drawn fans towards him, but his relationship with Whites is not a unique one, at least in one sense.

All the players get the same backing.

But he admits they are backed to a degree he has rarely seen elsewhere, even on the international scene.

“Unbelievable fans that we have,” he told the YEP.

“It’s not only about me.

“Every player that we have, they’re happy and proud to have these fans.

“They’re one of the best that I see in my career.

“They support you away, home, unbelievable.

“It’s only to enjoy.

“When I go away international I don’t see these fans that I have in Leeds.”

That backing, like the sight of 4,400 Whites in the away end at Oakwell last weekend, is further fuel for his fire.

“Normally you are on the pitch, you don’t watch a lot what is around you,” he said.

“But if you see the fans from Leeds, what they give us to come there, then you think ‘I want to give them something back’ – a win.”

Alioski and Leeds have give the fans plenty of wins since Bielsa came to town in the summer of 2018.

And it is when talk turns to Bielsa and how he has helped Alioski achieve a goal he set when he arrived at Elland Road, that his serious side emerges.

The work Leeds players have had to put in and continue to put in, to keep up with the demands of the head coach, is no joke.

“I came here to change something, not to be the same person, to change something in me, to improve something, to work harder and I think the club gives me a lot and has changed me a lot as a person,” he said.

“To take decisions on the pitch, mostly with this coach how he has changed me tactically, to defend, to run more, not only in training but the food, the weight, to be more professional, the discipline.

“This shows you how life is in football.

“Everyone thinks it’s easy but if you do the things Marcelo Bielsa wants, then it is hard.”

All of that hard work is geared towards one aim.

Leeds United currently occupy the Championship spot that would mean the world to every single White, were they to find themselves in the very same position come the end of the 2019/20 season.

Their 2-0 win at Barnsley on Sunday took them back to the top and maintained their status as early front runners for promotion.

That subject is not one that elicits enthusiasm from Alioski.

The impish smile disappears as he dismisses an opportunity to get carried away like an old head, like one with his head screwed on, like one who knows football isn’t all fun and games.

“About this promotion, I think it’s too early to speak,” he said, sagely.

“Even last year I think every press conference we were speaking only about promotion.

“It’s not so easy, every day to speak about promotion because we start well again.

“The season is long, it’s better to play game by game.”

That tunnel vision might be what it takes to allow Leeds and Alioski to grace and shake the tunnels at Anfield, Stamford Bridge and Old Trafford.

Just picture it, the Elland Road jester on the biggest stage.

Premier League, are you nervous?