January proves to be dry for Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds United

Dry January, after all, has turned into a public campaign urging people to abstain from alcohol in the first month of the new year, Everywhere you go, there is also countless advice on how to become a better person in terms of your well-being.

Although not necessarily linked to health, there are again some familiar early new year warnings for Leeds United supporters. They are pretty stressful, all the same.

Last January, Leeds’s post-Christmas form after a majestic opening half of the season was the subject of concern, heightening fans’ craving for some key transfer business to maintain their promotion charge.

Fast forward to now and there are worrying similarities.

A year on from his infamous ‘Spygate’ press conference – following the huge row which emanated from Derby County finding a member of Leeds’s staff surreptitiously observing their training sessions ahead of their league meeting – head coach Marcelo Bielsa was again on the defensive.

Here, the Argentine was defending the club’s recruitment policy, with the club’s fanbase yearning for some high-profile reinforcements following the return of loan players Eddie Nketiah and Jack Clarke to their parent clubs.

More especially up front, where the club’s only senior, fit and recognised centre-forward is Patrick Bamford.

A run of one win in six league matches has exacerbated that sense of angst, allied to the failure to make a breakthrough in their much-publicised quest to land a replacement for Nketiah, with Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhuttl digging his heels in regarding Leeds’s No 1 forward target Che Adams.

A back-up goalkeeper in young Italian Elia Caprile is also being pursued, with Leeds also reportedly close to signing Manchester City winger Ian Poveda.

But a breakthrough in their search for a frontline striker is the overwhelming priority.

Recognising the anxiety among supporters, Bielsa said: “We are aware that we have to replace two players.

“Victor Orta (director of football) is working very hard to resolve this.

“The president supports the needs of the team. If we cannot resolve it, it is not going to be for a lack of effort or because someone is not engaged.

“We cannot say that is going to happen the same as Dan James or we did not take advantage of Nketiah. None and both conclusions are true.

“What we have to do is describe how things are and accept supporters and the press judge us how they think we have to be judged.

“Every time the team does not win, there is something around the club, some feeling of doubt, lack of confidence and we understand this, but we have to know if we deserve this or not.”

For his part, Bielsa remains intent on only bringing in players who fit into his way of playing, although there was a sense of annoyance at his pre-match press conference yesterday.

Namely, that a player fully assimilated into his style in Nketiah was recalled by parent club Arsenal due to the fact that he was not getting enough game-time.

Bielsa, whose animation drew parallels with his ‘Spygate’ press conference, added: “Do you think Adams is playing regularly?.

“Adams is not playing regularly, so if he comes, of course we need to adapt to some situation.

“For this reason, I am a little bit disappointed for the situation of Nketiah and Arsenal because we have 19 matches left, three months of competition and also we have to consider the type of team we are.

“I have given all the information on that point, the unfairness that was the treatment of Arsenal and Eddie Nketiah to Leeds.

“When they chose Leeds, Leeds took an engagement to Arsenal’s decision and Nketiah’s decision and thought a lot about it. They chose us, putting away other options they had. We did everything we said we were going to do, so we have nothing to claim ourselves.

“The same with Clarke. In this moment we do not have those two players. The club is going to do all that is possible to try to resolve this situation, always respecting the (financial fairplay) rules.”

Ironically, Leeds will come face to face with Clarke tomorrow after he joined QPR on loan for from Tottenham and he is set to make his debut at Loftus Road.

Tyler Roberts again misses out for Leeds, along with Adam Forshaw.