According to Leeds Under-23 boss Mark Johnson, Marcelo Bielsa sent a ‘fantastic’ message to the development squad following their recent heartbreaking defeat to Newcastle Under-23s.
The Elland Road young-guns raced into a 3-0 lead against the Magpies, but ultimately lost the game 4-3. However, Bielsa was quick to console them.
Speaking to the BBC, Johnson said: ‘The manager sent a fantastic message to the players on the WhatsApp group, just words of encouragement saying that we’ve all been in those situations, but the vital thing is that you try and learn from it. I thought it was a fantastic gesture.’
That just shows what type of man the Argentine is.
With more pressing matters to focus on, having recently lost 4-1 to Leicester at the time he sent his message, Bielsa could’ve been forgiven for not paying attention to the crushing result.
However, the ex-Marseille boss deserves huge praise for caring about the future of Leeds and ensuring that they do not get too disheartened by the scoreline.
Two goals from Liam McCarron and one from summer signing Joe Gelhardt impressively put Leeds in the driving seat – they now need to learn a bit of game management, while also knowing how to stay switched on.
In Gelhardt’s case, the summer signing from Wigan has now scored four goals in seven Premier League 2 appearances this season, while also grabbing one assist.
The 18-year-old, as well as another new signing of the same age in Sam Greenwood, are doing very well in Yorkshire.
Greenwood, who was signed from Arsenal, has netted five goals in five Premier League 2 games.
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