Report: What Jesse Marsch told his Leeds players in controversial huddle at Leicester

Add as preferred source on Google

Jesse Marsch liked what he saw from his Leeds team at Leicester City yesterday, despite seeing the Whites lose 1-0 thanks to a Harvey Barnes goal.

Marsch was taking charge for the first time as Marcelo Bielsa’s successor. The American knows he has a big task on his hands but he was buoyed by some of the play yesterday. He admitted after the game he was proud of the players for taking onboard some instruction and that, on another day, the result could have been different.

However, one thing which wasn’t to everyone’s liking was his post-match on-field huddle. It’s not something we see every week in England, and the likes of Richard Keys and Andy Gray were among those to question it at full-time.

But according to The Athletic, Marsch’s task was simply to deliver a quick message to all his players about taking the positives from the game.

“It was a real simple message. That was very positive and a big step in the right direction. I told them that if we keep playing like this we will get all the points we need. Which, here and now, is the promised land as it looks,” Marsch told The Athletic.

TBR’s View: Marsch Taking A Risk But Logic Behind The Huddle

These sorts of moments can draw unnecessary attention but you can see that Marsch was simply trying to get his players feeling good before leaving the field.

It’s not something we are all used to in the Premier League, and some players probably won’t like it. But you can see the logic behind it and it will be interesting to see if it remains a regular fixture.

The only worry is it could end up being criticised if Leeds don’t start winning. While some players, no doubt, will not be overly keen.