Why Marcelo Bielsa is waiting for Leeds United's first mental test following impressive Whites start

The Argentine has seen his team start the new campaign in stunning form having won three and drawn once in their opening four league fixtures.

United have also dispatched of Salford City in the Carabao Cup and are yet to fall behind in a fixture this term.

Leeds travel to Stoke City this afternoon as they look to maintain their spot at the top of the Championship table against a side who have just one point from a possible twelve on offer.

Bielsa, though, says he's unsure whether his side have recovered mentally from the play-off defeat to Derby County in May, believing that he will find out when they suffer their first setback of the season.

"You know that we didn’t get promoted, the way to improve this is to get promoted," Bielsa stated.

"So what we are thinking now is late. Out of time. At the same time with just five games we can't talk now about if this team has recovered from last season or the opposite.

"It could be that a bad result shows a weakness.

"And at the same time when you are in a very good or top performance, (there's) no indication that you have recovered mentally."

Asked about the use of psychologists in football for players, he added: "The psychology as a tool is very important and obviously the psychology in the squad is very specific and important too.

"It’s a specific work in the squad that you need to develop and learn so it’s important. At the same time it's true that there aren't too many people in this specific role with a lot of experience in big teams.

"Above all because in football it’s true that there is a wall to introduce this specific man in a squad. The footballer knows that this type of person comes into the team is the reason that there are people with experience to make this kind of job."