Ian Wright reacts to Marcelo Bielsa being sacked by Leeds United

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Ian Wright has told Wrighty’s House that he is gutted to see Marcelo Bielsa leave Leeds United following his sacking at Elland Road on Sunday.

Bielsa’s time in Yorkshire came to an end at the weekend with the board fearing that relegation was on the cards without a change being made.

Leeds have endured a nightmare run of form. And they have conceded 20 goals in their last five games. They are now within touching distance of the bottom three.

However, Bielsa’s departure has led to an outpouring barely ever seen when a manager has been sacked. Even at 4-0 down against Tottenham on Saturday, supporters were singing his name. And there only seemed to be a small number of boos at half-time.

Bielsa has been much more important for Leeds than the results on the pitch. And many neutrals have taken a lot of joy from seeing the 66-year-old managing in England.

Wright is one of those who has been full of praise for Leeds throughout Bielsa’s tenure. And he has now paid tribute to the Argentinian following the announcement that he has left the club.

“I’ve got to say, he’ll be sorely missed. And what his football was and what Leeds were when he took them over,” he told Wrighty’s House.

“I’m kind of gutted for Leeds because I wanted him to have more but we know that he signs one year contracts, he’s not holding clubs to ransom.”

Jesse Marsch made smart call acknowledging popularity of Bielsa following Leeds appointment

Leeds fans who allowed themselves to think about what the future held beyond Bielsa would have always known that the next person to come in would face a huge task.

Bielsa is amongst the most popular figures to have ever been at Leeds. And it says a lot that some fans even said that they would rather be in the Championship with Bielsa than in the top-flight without him.

Obviously, many have disagreed. But it does help highlight just what Bielsa has meant to Leeds. And with that, his successor has to work hard to win the fans over.

Encouragingly, Jesse Marsch has made a good start. He acknowledged in his first interview why he may not be particularly popular at this stage. The awareness should only help him as he looks to pick up the weighty baton from Bielsa.