Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch has told the media he thinks Manchester City are the best team in world football and has revealed how he plans to stop them this weekend. The Whites take on Pep Guardiola's side at Elland Road, knowing a result against the league leaders would be a huge step towards Premier League survival.
Marsch's side are currently five points clear of the bottom three with five games remaining this season. The Whites boss has given and update on injury news, why he thinks City are the best team in the world and his plans for the club moving forward.
The Whites boss also spoke at length about his vision for Leeds' identity next year and keeping the likes of Illan Meslier at the club.
Full press conference transcript:
Jesse Marsch: "Crysencio Summerville picked up an injury in the last training we had before the Palace match which is really unfortunate because he's been in really good form.
"He twisted his ankle and he will be done for the season unfortunately. That one was disappointing and then Adam [Forshaw] is moving forward in a good way but it'll still be some time for him.
"Patrick [Bamford] has been making progress and we're hopeful that we can see him later in the season. Tyler [Roberts] is making good progress as well.
"Other than that, I think everyone else is fully healthy and ready to go. The last thing I'll say is we're obviously excited for a big match, we think it's the best team in the world against the best club in the world. You can decide which is which."
Is Manchester City the ultimate test for your side and how do you approach a game like this?
JM: "It is an ultimate test, maybe the ultimate test. I'm very honest when I say I think they're the best team in the world. The talent they have speaks for itself.
"Their manager does an incredible job of creating a tactical model that is very complex and one that the players understand very, very well and are able to execute very well. It's one that's incredibly difficult to defend against.
"That's what you see more often than anything, Man City has an ability to control the match over time by their quality and movement and ideas and their ability to unbalance you. Often unbalance you in one area and attack you in another.
"So, we will have to be very clear in exactly what our tactics and strategies are for the day. We have to find moments to not just be passive throughout the match because that's what happens.
"They can put so much pressure on teams with the ball, then with the counter pressing they just suffocate teams. We have to be confident and better with the ball.
"We have to understand the moments we can strategically be aggressive. That's not easy and a massive challenge, but hopefully on the day we can use our crowd and find ways to have a home advantages and see if we can fight for a result."
How have you managed to tighten up defensively and how hard is it to balance being tight at the back and still score goals?
JM: "I would say that in all areas, we have so much work to do still. The fact that we've gotten results and fought in front of our goal to do whatever we can to not give up goals, has helped us gain momentum, but there's still a lot of things we can be much better at.
"On both sides of the ball for me. I've said from the beginning the one thing we can always draw from these players is their mentality and willingness to run and fight for each other and we've seen that at such a high level in every game.
"We need to get better with the ball, we need to get better counter pressing, we need to get better in transition moments in creating clear chances, but at the same time, I'm really happy with the daily work and I can't ask for more work from the guys."
Do you expect the title and relegation race to go to the wire, and is he surprised that the points threshold to stay up is higher than a few weeks ago?
JM: "I'm used to be on the other end of the spectrum fighting for the title and I know a lot of times from playing against relegation foes it can be a pesky match. That's our job on the day to make thee match pesky for Man City.
"I think that the league is so good and my respect for every team is so high that it just comes down to focus and concentration for every game. I say that all the time but I don't have energy for more. I'm sorry I don't have the energy to think about the table and how other teams are doing or how it's going to look at the end of the year.
"I assumed from the very second that I took the job that I was going to be knee-deep in everything until May 22nd and I think it'll stay that way. I think our focus and concentration to work to get better has been really good and we have to sustain with that."
How close is Junior Firpo to pushing Stuart Dallas for that place?
JM: "We've worked with Junior a lot in the last few days and we're hopeful that we can get him fitter and fitter and closer and closer to helping the group. I think that he can help the group.
"The best thing that he can provide is ease with the ball from the left-back position, which can help us have some more solutions and try and control the game a little bit more. Whether this is the match to see if he's fully ready, we'll just have to evaluate that over the next couple of days but he's looked good in training and I've told him to be ready because we'll need him for sure.
"For me Stuart has been fantastic. His mentality, work-rate, ability to understand what the game requires at such a high level and I know that left-back is not his preferred position or his best position. The goal is to get Junior closer and closer to being ready to help us and the find other ways to use Stuart."
You made changes the other night, how big of a decision is it to pick Robin [Koch] or Mateusz [Klich] to partner Kalvin Phillips?
JM: "I think first, it wasn't anyone's best game. Klichy and I spoke after the match and spoke about things that could be better and then discussed how to handle the tough moments as well.
"I really like Klichy and think he's a really good player. I love his personality and he's been a big part in the successes that we've had together so far, so we're going to need him for sure.
"Him and Robin provide different things when they play in that role. Obviously Mateusz is a more attacking player and Robin is a more defensive player but I think there's different needs for different situations.
"I could see that in the match we were struggling with the ball and even though Klichy normally helps us in those situations, I knew that defending in that moment was going to be the biggest factor because Crystal Palace had the ability to unbalance us at times. I think it worked out ok.
"Getting the draw was important for us but Mateusz and Robin will continue to be important for us as we move forward."
Dan James is 11 games without a goal, how keen are you to have a more natural centre-forward?
JM: "I think it's a case of every game, what does it require? I've spoken to Dan multiple times and it's not his desired position or his best position, but even if I look at the game we were dangerous in the first 60 minutes but we controlled Palace a bit more. A lot of the time it's because of Dan's ability against the ball and pressing the ball in situations and making it difficult on the opponent.
"Being a threat in behind meant we can control what they're doing in moments better. When we took Dan out, the game got pushed towards our defensive end and we had to hang on for the last stages of the match.
"I'm still working out how we use Dan in wide positions more. Yeah, do we put Joffy, Rodrigo or Sam Greenwood up there more? Just every day in training trying to evaluate where we're at and think about tactically what we need to fight best for points."
How keen are you to make sure Illan Meslier stays beyond his existing contract?
JM: "In general, I can say that I've been happy with everyone's commitment to be here. It's a unique situation that we have with our group. We have a lot of talent too and certainly when you talk about Raphinha and Kalvin [Phillips] they're two big players for us and I think Illan's potential moving forward is huge.
"The best thing that I've seen from him in the last weeks is more and more confidence. Even though I talked about how he didn't train at all before the Watford match, then he came into the match and was almost flawless.
"I think that was a big moment in Illan's career, to know that in big moments you need a goalkeeper who is ready no matter what the circumstances are. Like I've said already, I'm not the best goalkeeper coach but I understand the mentality of what the goalkeeper position requires.
"That's been the focus of my work with Illan and I think he's responded great and played really well. The answer is yes, lets keep him."
Just to clarify, you say Patrick is progressing well, but this weekend is too soon?
JM: "Patrick will not be ready [for this weekend] but I suspect and probably can expect, that he will be on the pitch next week. So lets see, we have to be cautious but we're all optimistic about Patrick at this point."
What might Manchester City's Champions League ties mean for this weekend?
JM: "That team is full of winners and professionals. Of course it's a massive goal of theirs to win the Champions League and at least get to the final. How does that compare to winning the league? If they have a slip up in the league then that title is in jeopardy.
"I expect a good and clear team on the pitch with a mentality to make sure they do everything they can to get the result. Looking at the fixtures, okay we're in between Real Madrid in the Champions League, but if it was four points or maybe five points that the lead was [in the Premier League] I think it would be different that one. They can't afford to slip up and we know that."
How important is it for the players to understand the right moments to attack?
JM: "First, it's about the mentality of understanding every moment, every second of the game is important because if we're not ready or not totally connected in one moment, then they're good enough to exploit that and be very dangerous.
"Now, out ability to be dangerous in moments will obviously affect how aggressive they can be. I was at the Man City Liverpool game and Man City started off great with lots of really good moments and were aggressive in pushing forward. Then Liverpool were dangerous and were able to get a goal and Man City had to be a little bit more cautious.
"Obviously we're not Liverpool, but if we can find moments like Real Madrid did, to still be dangerous or nick a goal, or at least but a little bit of fear in our ability to counter and be effective with the ball, then it will affect how aggressive they can be. That's really important.
"Then the tactical plan. The players are very clear, we had a long video session today and have another one tomorrow. They're very clear exactly what the tactical plan is and how to execute it on the day under a pressuring situation.
"I don't mean pressure of the result, I mean the quality of the opponent and the intelligence of the opponent is so good, that it forces them to be ready to run, but also ready to think. It's a challenge at the highest level and we'll do everything we can to be up for it."
When did you discover Raphinha had a long throw?
JM: "We had a contest in training. I asked the team if anyone had a long throw and they all said no. I said 'Someone in here does and my money is on Raphinha.' He did and it was dangerous. We'll probably use it more in the future.
"We don't have a throw in coach like Liverpool or some other places but we'll try and see if we can be dangerous in those moments."
Did the last defeat to Man City leave a scar or lingering fear?
JM: "I don't think so. I think we're all very clear that this is a team that can pile on the goals. I think we're just focussed on being clear and being up for the challenge.
"In some ways you can say there's nothing to lose. We're expected to lose this game every time - I don't believe that - but I can see why that's the expectations.
"Our job is to strategically understand, we know what they want the game to look like and we know what we want the game to look like. To see if we can tilt the bar a little bit throughout the game to gain advantages in the way we want to gain advantages. Big challenge but we'll see if we can be clear on the day."
Is there any value to looking at the win Leeds had at the Etihad last season, tactically or psychologically?
JM: "I haven't done that. I looked at the first game we played them this year, maybe I will it's a good idea."
What do you see of Stuart Dallas' attributes in midfield that differs from Mateusz or Robin?
JM: "I haven't had a chance to see Stuart in the Six, I've gone back and watched him in that position to think about the future, how can we still use him there? It's probably his preferred spot.
"His national tam coach was here a few weeks ago and he said he'd used him more as a wing-back in a three. His intelligence and flexibility are an incredible strength. When you see him play in the six I think he's incredibly effective there and I think in the way I'm trying to convert the team he can be very good there.
"I think he's done a good job in full-back. Just trying to think abut each player, Dan isn't normally a striker, Robin's not normally a six, Stuart's not normally a left-back, but where we are and how we've got results, the roles have fit together in a way to allow us to win matches.
"Each match is a little different so we've got to think about what it means for the next coming match and phase but I know that Stuart has flexibility to play in the six and we'll consider that moving forward as well."
Are you minded to be cautious this weekend?
JM: "I'm going to be pragmatic but aggressive. I think if you analyse them they overload wide areas and they're so good at crossing situations that even though they don't have much height up the field, they score almost every goal from wide areas.
"We have to manage that and understand what that means, then what options and movements they create and how to try and limit those. Then when we win balls, how to try to be effective to catch them on the counter. Then in possession to still be confident and try to unbalance them.
"It's why I say they're the best team in the world. It's the quality they have but also the way the manager teaches them to play thee game. It's at such a high level."
Did you learn anything from September's game as RB Leipzip boss?
JM: "On the day we made such big mistakes in the 6-3 match we had, that it was really hard to evaluate what was good and what was bad on the day. The ways that we thought we'd be able to hurt them we were able to find some chances and some goals.
"The ways we knew that they could punish us, they did effectively. We made such big mistakes in that game I mean really, really bad. So, their play in wide areas is what punished us the most and big switches.
"You have to try to close the space on one side of the field but know that the ball can quickly go to the other side and they can punish you over there. I think the game was what we expected other than the amount of mistakes we made."
In terms of next season, are you looking to have more specialists in the squad or use what you've got?
JM: "I like having a team that is very flexible. We've played a lot of 4-2-3-1 so far. We started 4-2-2-2 and now it looks more like 4-2-3-1. I would like to have more flexibility with formations and with players in positions so that we can have flexibility in how we play with the ball and how we play against the ball.
"We haven't been able to build that in enough because we're still trying to get in principles and ideas of how we want to play the way we want to play - in a relegation fight where we have to fight for every point. It stalls the project in certain ways.
"We have to focus so heavily on results which I never like to do. In the process we've found a way to continue to try to transform into what we will become, but also being very pragmatic to get results."
Have City got an aura about them?
JM: "They've got an aura, they've got quality. They've got everything - money, success, expertise - they've got everything. It's incredible to have these kinds of clubs in the world in our sport that are just so dominant in every phase. The make-up of what the club is in terms of the network of other clubs that they're connected with.
"The power behind the club and this team is incomparable."
This is your latest duel with them and it continues the story with them?
JM: "There are some comparisons between what Red Bull is and what City is and we experienced that very heavily in New York. My respect for everything that City has done is at a very high level.
"We were similar at Red Bull but different. I like the set-up that I'm in now. I like that the identity of the club is so strong and it fits with who I am. I think that's the key when you're a manager. It's finding something that resonates with the identity of what you are.
"I don't have to tell the players that they have to work hard because it's so engrained in to what the club it. For us, it's just about how to continue to take steps forward to continue to grow and become bigger and bigger in ways that we think thee fans deserve.
"I think the fans support, the intimacy of the stadium atmosphere and the experience of the club and the team and fans is. What the city is and being a one city team is very unique. It's special in the world of football. That my focus.
How important is it to remain calm over the next three games?
JM: I think it's important to take it game by game and what the game requires. If we do that, I think we have the best chance, then we can't waiver. We haven't waivered yet and we can't. We have to stay strong and believe in how we do things and have to keep pushing forward every single day.
"That's the most important thing and we've had that. It's been a key part of our success and it'll continue to be so."
What are the attributes of a 'pesky game'?
JM: "Annoying, pesky, dangerous as well. The pragmatism of understanding that we have to be aggressive, we have to understand where to be aggressive, why and how, then make sure that we are addressing the things that make them strongest and try to eliminate or at least contain those things.
"Then play to our strengths. That's key."
How important is atmosphere at Elland Road and listening?
JM: "Earlier on I was talking about philosophical mumbo jumbo, when people were asking about who I am. Who I am as a leader is not about being an iron-fisted hierarchy. I'm about valuing people and opinion and ownership. This is not a reflection of me it's a reflection of us.
"That requires me to have dialogue, conversation, give and take, to be a good listener. With any situation we've had this year, the players aren't used to a manager like that and it's not just comparing me to Marcelo. It's in general, I don't think there's a lot of coaches that have that leadership style in our sport.
"This is what I valued most as a player because I would do anything for the coaches that cared about me, knew who I was and wanted me to be successful. I would do anything for those coaches."
Is it easier to manager that way at the top, rather than where you are now?
JM: "They're more important then. For me, this business is so much about when it's difficult, what are you? Everybody is good when it's easy. Everybody is happy when they're good at what they do, it's when it's difficult, how much can you stick to your principles and stick to what you believe in?
"Do you walk the talk? That's what I know. I want to be my best when it's most difficult and stay true to what I believe in. That is people and the power of people.
"We've had tough discussions along the way. It's not always been easy here but we're always trying to find positive reinforcement. At times, I have had to be very clear when we're not meeting standards and to make sure that as a group we do not accept anything other than what we believe is our best."
What's changed since the game against Aston Villa at Elland Road?
JM: "For me, it was a revelation. Most places I've been, the power of the home stadium is only positive and I don't mean this negatively towards out fans. I mean the players want to achieve so hard for the fans, that desire can have a negative affect.
"Then when the fans see the players are at their best they become nervy and disappointed and the energy of the stadium can shift. That was interesting for me to experience. We talked a lot in the next days.
"Moments like that, when it's not perfect are when the leader has to be at his best and I had a lot of conversations and I was very straight with the group. We were very straight with each other.
"We have to be strong and in these kinds of moments, that's when we have to play our best. The start of the Norwich game - not the result or how it finished - the start of that game said a lot. The first half is probably our best half of football.
"There's been different things that have happened along the way and every moment has required a few different things. The ability for me to have the finger on the pulse of exactly what is happening is vital. The for me to communicate that effectively and make sure the players are engaged in whatever that is, so that we can move forward positively and always be up for the next challenge.
"The football is the foundation for creating that kind of mindset."
What are Leeds' traits that echo your identity?
JM: "Hard work. Aggression, working defensively and fighting for everything. Trying to entertain along the way. I think that's what I resonate with. We haven't been as effective in the attacking part of the pitch as I would've hoped. Moving forward, I also knew coming in that shoring up the defensive part was the most important.
"We need to get better at commanding the game with the ball and certainly find ways to score more goals and be more aggressive in transition modes."
