By Mark Smith

11th Jan, 2020 | 10:00am

'Put us on the map' - Phillips comments on Leeds past, heaps praise on 'great manager'

Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips has seen his fair share of managers on the touchline during his time at Elland Road.

Marcelo Bielsa is one of the few men in recent years who could complete two consecutive seasons in charge of the Whites. Garry Monk could have done the same but left after failing to reach an agreement with Andrea Radrizzani.

The Owls boss returns to the Whites on Saturday, looking to keep up his unbeaten record against Bielsa from the past two years.

Phillips has recently commented on the effect Monk had on his career and the club, claiming that he laid the foundations for the recent success.

The Sun journalist Justin Allen posted the interview on his personal Twitter account on Saturday morning, highlighting Phillips’ admiration for his former boss.

“Garry was the first manager to give me more than 20 games,” he told the Sun.

“He had faith in me and I respected that. Garry put us on the map and built the foundations – and hopefully, we can build on that and do well against him this weekend.

“He’s a great manager and it will be tough.”

Monk certainly pushed Leeds to another level during his time at the club, but Bielsa has simply taken the club to a whole other dimension.

That season, the Whites missed out on the play-offs in the final month. They rarely dominated teams and often won games because of their ability to out scrap other sides.

Compare that to Bielsa, who has transformed Leeds into a side who simply dominates nearly every single game they play. With an added ruthless streak, we would be miles clear at the top of the table – as proven in this graph.

In other Leeds United news, BBC pundit predicts Leeds starting XI v Sheff Weds, claims star man could be ‘great replacement’