Jesse Marsch has been reflecting on his debut as a Premier League manager, as the American coach saw his Leeds side lose narrowly at Leicester despite dominating large chunks of the game.
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Leeds lost 1-0 at Leicester but had the upper hand on xG by 2.14 to 0.35 and were impressive after Marsch replaced Marcelo Bielsa earlier this week.
Marsch, 48, became just the third American coach to manage a Premier League team (Bob Bradley and David Wagner were the others) and he saw his side create plenty of chances but Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel made some superb stops to keep Leeds at bay.
Leeds looked more solid defensively but had a real attacking threat and deserved to at least grab a point from this game. Instead, they have now lost six of their last seven and are embroiled in a relegation battle with 11 games of the season to go.
Speaking to BT Sport in the UK after the game, Jesse Marsch revealed that he is ‘very proud’ of his players for taking on board his new tactical ideas in the space of just a few days.
American coach praises his new players
At the full time whistle Jesse Marsch got all of his players and staff together on the pitch in a huddle and praised them for a fine display.
“I look at the faces on our team and they are obviously disappointed because they know they played well and deserved a result,” Marsch said. “After 4 days to have changed a lot of the tactics and played in all phases of the game with clarity, to be very stable in the back and not give much away, to control the game for many stretches, I’m really proud and pleased of our group in how far we’ve come in four to five days.”
“There’s so many little things that I can see in the match that is happening and I know we need to clarify and continue to get better with, and we will, and I don’t like normally to scream from the bench so much. Good performances, clarity on the pitch and a good match for us.”
Marsch understands situation, but wants to build new style
“I understand that there is stress here because the points are so important right now,” Marsch said. “We have to stay clear to our process and it has to be a condensed process. But we have to keep understanding how we want to play and maintain a clear, fresh, mindset which helps us grow and get better every day.”
Marsch added that Leeds need to show a little more sharpness in the final third to turn all of their good play into goals, but said it was a ‘big first step’ and it was ‘100 percent’ a display to build on.
“In a tough moment it’s a shame that our sport isn’t always so fair,” Marsch added. “To play so well and come to a tough place to play, it doesn’t feel right that we didn’t get what we think we deserved. That’s sport and that is what we have to deal with.”
If they play like this against Aston Villa, Norwich, Wolves, Southampton and Watford in their next four games then they will pick up plenty of points.
