Jesse Marsch forced to play Luke Ayling out of position for Leeds United – Sky Sports pundit
We’re delighted to welcome former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson as our exclusive columnist as each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at Leeds United...
Paul Robinson was impressed by what he saw from Leeds United when Jesse Marsch managed his first game since replacing Marcelo Bielsa at the weekend.
Although the Whites lost 1-0 away at Leicester on Saturday [5 March], it was a much better improvement from Marsch’s newly-inherited players, who remain in the Premier League relegation battle.
Marsch’s starting line-up wasn’t too dissimilar to what Bielsa would have named and once players are back from their injuries, Robinson doesn’t think the American will line up with the same defensive four that he did at the King Power Stadium.
“I think they looked to have a bit more confidence about them,” Robinson told MOT Leeds News.
“They were clearly in a place before, when Bielsa was there, that it just wasn’t working.
“Defensively, they looked more organised and they dropped deep instead of doing one-v-one marking all over the pitch.
“It’ll take more time to adjust and they just need more cohesion.
“It’s not his ideal back-four, I’m sure Marsch won’t want to play Luke Ayling and Pascal Struijk as his centre-half partnership.
“I think Luke is better at right-back but the defence looked very sound, very solid and they just looked a lot better of an outfit.
“It’s promising signs and I know the result wasn’t great but it wasn’t a devastating defeat and Patrick Bamford was back on the bench.
“It’s not a bad start to the week.”
Liam Cooper and Diego Llorente missed the game at Leicester due to injury while Robin Koch was played in the midfield.
Stuart Dallas covered Ayling at right-back for the 1-0 loss in the East Midlands but with players seemingly coming back from injury, it might not be too long before Marsch has a fully-fit squad at his disposal.
In other Leeds United news, this senior player is in a precarious position at Elland Road after what happened at the weekend.