Leeds United coach Jesse Marsch on trying to find the leaders to make himself 'obsolete'

It is a quest for perfection which fortunately for the American’s job prospects will never be achieved.

But it is telling Marsch has been working on trying to make goalkeeper Illan Meslier more of a leader and that he regularly mentions those qualities when talking about his first January signing, Max Wober.

Not helped by the fact no Premier League team is made up of 11 players whose first language is English, or societal changes which mean telephones are rarely used for talking, on-pitch communication has become less prevalent.

For all his other qualities, the expected second signing – 20-year-old French striker Giorginio Rutter – is unlikely to help that.

The result is players who have been intensively coached since their primary school days less able to work out problems for themselves.

"Most places I've been, I'm not standing on the touchline as much as here," admits former New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Salzburg and RB Leipzig coach Marsch.

"One of the reasons is I hate sitting in the dugout at Elland Road because the eye-level view is terrible. But another is I feel the need to try to help them in moments.

“My goal is always to make myself as obsolete as possible. In Germany I got ridiculed for saying that but I believe the job of a leader is to provide the people within an organisation with all the tools they need to understand what the plan is, how to execute it, be themselves and carry it out as best as possible. I'm not pleased I haven't gotten there yet.

"It never really gets there but I need to move the needle that way. I need to try to continue to provide them with all the tools they need to believe they can be the team I know they can. That has to do with everything I do – the tactical part, the leadership part, the reinforcement, trying to stay positive and show belief."

Wober, who is set for a Premier League debut at Villa Park, has been bought as a ready-made leader.

"I've told him he doesn't have to run around and tell everybody what to do but one of his main strengths is how vocal he is on the pitch, how clear and intelligent he is and how fearless," says a coach who worked with him at Salzburg.

"I know what kind of leader is, what kind of man he is, what kind of player he is, but more importantly he's the type of person that will always be up for the biggest challenges and want to be part of a real team.

"But I know Max is still young and he has to establish himself with this team and this league. He has a very high ceiling in terms of leadership."

Given Wober’s versatility, the first challenge is deciding where to play him. He appeared to be a central defender signed primarily with left-back in mind but made his introduction at Cardiff City in central midfield and flourished.

"I told him he was going on at centre-back, then left-back, then centre-back, then left-back, then six (holding midfield), then centre-back," admits Marsch. "I probably changed my mind six times because I wanted to put him somewhere he was most comfortable, which is probably centre-back, but I also know he can be impactful at left-back and play six.

"I wanted to get the balance right of giving him the best opportunity to have success the first time he stepped on the field for the team, but also put him in a position where I thought he could have most impact.

"I probably put more emphasis on what was important for the match."

Ready-made leaders are great but few players come ready-made when signed on a Leeds budget.

At 22, Meslier is a young goalkeeper but he made his 100th league appearance for the Whites against West Ham United. Former midfielder Marsch leaves the technical side to the specialists and tries to develop the Frenchman in other ways.

"I've challenged him to be more of a well-rounded goalkeeper that can read the game in all moments – I have sometimes called it the quarterback when he has the ball – and sometimes almost like a last defender in how he manages those situations,” he explains.

"We've tried to expand his comfort zone from everything from a leadership perspective to a last-defender perspective to decision-making.

"We've seen a lot of growth. At the same time we're seeing his ability to make saves and big plays."

Leeds are still growing back into the Premier League with a squad largely built on potential.

"A lot of individuals have grown a lot but as a group it still hasn't come together the way I would like," concedes Marsch. "The lack of consistency from match to match and in-match means we're not able to really push this the way I want.

"But I feel like we're in a good place, poised to have a click or a spark that can launch us."

Last six games: Aston Villa DWWDWL; Leeds United DDDLLL

Referee: M Oliver (Ashington)

Last time: Aston Villa 3 Leeds United 3, February 9, 2021, Premier League