Leeds United players given gruelling first day by Marcelo Bielsa

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Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa is going to make his players work hard.

New Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa has begun work at the club and wants a fit squad capable of matching his demanding playing style.

He met the players for the first time yesterday at Thorp Arch as pre-season got underway.

It was no easy ride for Leeds’ players.

The Times reports Bielsa made his players do a double training session on their first day back, and noted that they did not leave until 7.30pm.

This will have meant a very short evening for the exhausted players, before waking up for round two today.

There were no messages from Leeds players during or immediately after the day on social media regarding the first training session. It is unclear if this was a directive from Bielsa, or if they were all simply too exhausted.

Bielsa’s teams play a demanding pressing style, to which fitness is key.

Pre-season is absolutely vital for building up fitness levels for the 46 game league season which lies ahead.

Bielsa said in his press conference that he felt Leeds’ squad is too bloated and it will need trimming.

One quick way to help identify players who should move on, is by seeing who can and who cannot cope with extra training sessions.