‘Not like that’ – Bielsa on attack as he destroys suggestion he prefers to play away from Leeds
Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa has always had a strong relationship with the supporters in Yorkshire, and particularly those at Elland Road.
His appointment in 2018 was a massive coup for the club, and he’s been treated like something of a demi-god because of it.
However, having experienced two defeats at their home ground recently – to Sheffield Wednesday and Wigan Athletic – a suggestion has arose that the Whites might do better with their next two games away from home.
They travel to Nottingham Forest on Saturday, before a crunch clash with promotion rivals Brentford at Griffin Park on Tuesday night.
However, any suggestion that the Whites might profit from this time spent on the road was quickly shut down by Bielsa.
“We always wish to play at Elland Road because our supporters never damage our team,” he said, as per the Yorkshire Evening Post.
“So for us, playing away is not a good thing for us. If you think playing away is better than at home, then you think playing at home is uncomfortable for us and it’s not like that.
“And if the supporter lost his faith in the team, it is us as team that have to recover the confidence that we lost. We always want to play at Elland Road and playing away is never a solution because for us supporters are not a problem.”
This is an interesting topic. Obviously Leeds have some of the most vociferous and passionate support groups in the entire country.
However, whether you view that as a positive or a negative depends entirely on your own point of view. Will their support galvanise you, or put added pressure on your shoulders?
Bielsa’s never had the look of a man who couldn’t handle the weight of expectations. Having said that, the pressure looks like it’s been getting to him a bit recently.
That’s likely down to his team’s stuttering form rather than the supporters at Elland Road, of course. There’s very little doubt that he would’ve preferred to have been playing Forest and Brentford at home rather than on their turfs, that’s for sure.
In other Leeds United news, many supporters have been reacting to Jean-Kevin Augustin’s recent performance for the Under-23s.