Leeds United go ‘back to the Bielsa days’ with behind-the-scenes change
Leeds United staff member Rob Price has revealed the club took special measures in the summer to revert “back to the Bielsa days” in terms of player fitness.
The Whites dropped off massively last season with regards to their fitness levels under Marcelo Bielsa’s successor Jesse Marsch, ultimately leading to their relegation after the American had been sacked.
In an interview with The Official Leeds United Podcast [September 27], the club’s Head of Medicine and Performance said the pre-season programme rolled out prior to Daniel Farke’s arrival was more in line with that seen under Bielsa.
“Even the players have said it – their general fitness levels last season dropped off,” Price said. “We were trying to push that from the backroom staff but ultimately a lot of the training comes down to what the coach wants to do in those sessions.
“We decided over the summer, before we knew who’d be the new manager, that we were going to give the lads a programme that meant that whoever was coming in to take them, they would be at a really good level.
“We gave the players around 10 days off after the last game against Tottenham and then they were sent programmes. Almost like in the Covid era, they had to screenshot every day and sent in what they were doing.
“We did really specific programmes that went almost back to the Bielsa days because we know what levels they were at. They came back into pre-season in a really good condition and Daniel and his staff arrived.”
Paying off
Leeds went from a group that harried opponents for 90 minutes under Bielsa to one that appeared unable to see out matches come the end of last season.
That is not to point the finger of blame entirely at Marsch as such in this instance – as easy as it is do so – but it is good to see the club’s medical department took control while those higher up searched for a new manager.
It meant that Farke had a group of fit players raring to go when he was eventually confirmed as manager, and that has been largely reflected in performances so far.
A large turnover of players in the summer certainly does not help, but we will no doubt see those who joined late on in the window grow fitter in the weeks to come.
After a positive start to the campaign, whatever has been done behind the scenes is clearly already paying off.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites may have a battle on their hands in January keeping hold of a key player.