Leeds United’s style of play is ‘fearless’, believes Jesse Marsch

Marsch will be taking charge at Leicester City today because results had reached a point where the Whites board felt it was too big a risk not to sack their popular manager Bielsa.

Even a draw will send Burnley and Everton into their weekend matches – against Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea respectively – knowing victories for both would put Leeds in the relegation zone. That seems unlikely, but both have games in hand to make up the gap later.

It just adds to the pressure on Marsch.

“Honestly, pressure is what you make of it,” says the American. “I understand this is a big league and a big moment and that we have to find ways to get points, to get results, that this club deserves to be in the Premier League. But if I focus on that it doesn’t help anybody or help me to do the job and my entire focus is on what we can control and what is important for us to get us to where we think we deserve to be.

“It’s about the daily work, it’s about investing in the process, investing in the people and the players and helping them understand how they can be at their best and I think a big part of my job right now is instilling confidence in the group that the way I want to help this team move forward is the way they can help us to where we want to be and how to communicate that every day.

“I understand what a big job it is and I understand how important it is to the fans, to the community here. I have followed football history for years.”

But that understanding must not become apprehension, he says.

“I used to have an equation: fear to fail equals failure,” he explains. “The way we play, our style of play is fearless. I think we have a lot of fearless young men here and we have to tap into that fearlessness and it will help us in a situation like this.

“The way we play is that making mistakes is never a bad thing because we are aggressive to go and win the ball back, to try and impose our will on the opponent at all times. I have to help educate the players and the team (about) exactly what that means on every given day and how to use it as a strategy to be better than the opponent.”

Marsch has signed a contract until 2025 and has no plans not to honour it if the club drops into the Championship after two seasons of top-flight football.

“During the process, Andrea (Radrizzani, the chairman) asked me would I come if at the end of the season if they were in the Premier League or the Championship. I said that, if I felt the project was right, then absolutely it didn’t matter,” he insists. “So when they came to me last week, it was time to show that I meant that

“My focus entirely is not on the Championship, it’s on finding ways that we will be in the Premier League. But in the end, I’m committed to being here no matter what the situation is because I believe in it so much.”

Marsch has identified some older leaders and talented youngsters who can help him.

“Speaking with Liam Cooper and Luke Ayling, it’s easy to see that they are comfortable in front of the group, that they are comfortable in leadership roles,” he says. “Adam Forshaw has also been fantastic, Patrick Bamford has a lot of personality.

“I want to challenge Kalvin Phillips to take a bigger role within the team and he is obviously so important, getting him healthy but also getting him to take a bigger role in the team will I think be massively important.

“Stuart Dallas, for me, is one of the hardest workers and strongest young men who is clear with himself and clear with how to work for a team every day. Rodrigo is an intelligent young man who wants to help in every way and then there is a lot of positive energy in a lot of the young guys.

“If you count Joffy (Joe Gelhardt) as the younger group then he has been good. I think Crysencio (Summerville) has been good in the group. I think Charlie Cresswell comes in every day and works really hard. I know Joffy a little bit from watching some of the Under-23s and some of the first-team matches, but I need to get to know these young players more so I can understand what their qualities are and then how to help them continue to grow.”

Match preview: Page 3