‘I know it sounds silly’: Player who left Leeds United last year shares Marcelo Bielsa insight

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Kemar Roofe has lifted the lid on Marcelo Bielsa’s successful coaching methods at Leeds United, in conversation with The Sun.

Prior to the football suspension, the Whites were flying high in the Championship, sitting top of the table and in pole position for the title and promotion to the Premier League.

Since Bielsa arrived at Elland Road in the summer of 2018, Leeds have been transformed from a mid-table side to one challenging at the top end of the standings.

Roofe, who left Leeds last summer to join Belgian side Anderlecht, remains fond of the Whites and, when football was still on, watched them every week to see how they were doing (talkSPORT).

The 27-year-old has now given a comprehensive insight into Bielsa’s methods and how they’ve transformed Leeds.

“With Bielsa, I know it sounds silly, he’s put square pegs in square holes,” Roofe told The Sun.

“It’s as simple as that, there are other teams that I’ve been at where some players shouldn’t be playing in certain positions or certain formations shouldn’t be used in the team but Bielsa has his way of playing and has the players to do that. You must execute his demands as well. If you can’t do that, you’re not going to play.

“Marcelo is a manager who likes to keep his distance from the players. He has a team of coaches that are very good so when he isn’t around they can take control. He had a team of coaches and fitness people that would run the ship pretty much while he was looking at the top and making sure everything was running smoothly.”

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Roofe is the latest in a long line of players and ex-players who have worked under Bielsa to praise his methods, and given the Argentine’s track record in transforming teams for the better, it’s little surprise that the plaudits keep coming.

Once the current situation is under control and it’s deemed safe for football to return, Leeds will hopefully be able to get the job done.

There is no team that deserves a return to the Premier League more than the Whites, and there is no manager who deserves the chance to play in the English top flight more than Bielsa.