Leeds United boss Jesse Marsh: I don’t care if people don’t like me because I’m American
Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch has dismissed continuing criticism of him as an American in football, calling it “idiocy” that is nothing to do with him.
The former Red Bull Salzburg boss was at pains to deal with the focus on his background in his first press conference after replacing Marcelo Bielsa a month ago (28 February), saying “I get it” that British fans don’t like to hear American terminology.
But having presided over consecutive dramatic Whites wins, he has less patience for dealing with criticism of where he is from rather than his management.
The Whites boss told Sirius XM, via BBC West Yorkshire: “I hear more and more things every day that people aren’t happy about what I say but honestly, gimme a break.
“If the team plays with heart and goes after the game I think that people will learn to tolerate my accent.
“And I don’t care, honestly, if people don’t like me because of my accent or because I’m from the US.
“Either people are going to appreciate me for what I am, and see me for what I am, or they’re going to make their own predisposed judgments, and I can’t change that, and that idiocy has nothing to do with me.”
Tiresome
It’s no wonder Marsch doesn’t have time to deal with this kind of lazy criticism.
He’s got a big job to do at Elland Road, and based on the two dramatic wins he has just overseen, he is managing to do it pretty well so far.
It was a tired position to focus on where he is from and the terms he uses even before he had taken charge of a few games.
There is plenty of relevant stuff to look at now that he has had time to get the team playing for him, and has achieved the main priority of picking up points.
If a white man with a different accent gets this ongoing hassle then you can only imagine the extra layers of doubt and suspicion that women and people of different ethnicities have to deal with in English football.
The opening two defeats got Marsch off to a shaky start, but the emotion and drama of back-to-back injury time victories has once again made United a must-watch team.
If he can keep that up, criticism of his accent will seem even more ridiculous.
In other Leeds United news, Glenn Hoddle has slammed the team’s defenders.