'The only thing...' - Journo reveals concern over Marsch at Leeds as he drops 'crucial' claim

Leeds United’s decision to replace Marcelo Bielsa with Jesse Marsch is a risky one at such a ‘crucial’ point in the season, according to journalist Pete O’Rourke.

Bielsa was sacked as Whites manager late last month, with Marsch coming in to replace the hugely popular Argentine in the Elland Road hot-seat.

Things haven’t worked out for the American so far, however, with a 1-0 defeat at Leicester City last weekend followed up by Thursday’s hugely disappointing 3-0 loss at home to Aston Villa.

Leeds are now in serious danger of returning to the Championship unless Marsch’s methods start paying off quickly, in what is a hugely precarious situation.

Speaking to Give Me Sport, O’Rourke admitted the switch to a coach with no experience in England is a big risk:

“The only thing for me is it was a gamble because he had never managed in the Premier League before.

“Coming in at such a crucial juncture of the season, with 12 games to go, he needed to hit the ground running to try and win over those Leeds fans who were so loyal to Bielsa.”

While Leeds were clearly struggling badly with Bielsa at the helm, the early signs suggest that it was an error getting rid of him, with supporters deeply unhappy during the Villa game.

The performances under Marsch have been uninspiring, perhaps suggesting the players aren’t too happy with the change either, and they are now arguably favourites to go down, along with Norwich City and Watford.

In fairness to Marsch, he has no time to settle in and needs results from the off – failure to beat Norwich at Elland Road on Sunday really would cause major concerns.

In other news, Phil Hay has given a key Leeds injury update. Read more here.

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