Former Leeds United assistant manager Gus Poyet believes the Whites were right to dismiss Marcelo Bielsa in order to preserve their Premier League status last term.
Bielsa was sacked by Leeds off the back of a 4-0 hammering by Tottenham Hotspur at Elland Road in February. The former Leeds boss left the club only two points above the relegation zone and on a run of five defeats from six games (D1).
Jesse Marsch was quickly installed as his successor and steered Leeds to safety courtesy of four wins from their final 12 league matches (D3 L5). Poyet, speaking to Lord Ping on Monday, insisted that Leeds would’ve been relegated had they retained Bielsa in the dugout.
“Bielsa looked like he was going to get Leeds relegated because he would not change his tactics,” Poyet said.
“Fortunately for Leeds, a club who needs to be in the Premier League, they have Jesse Marsch now.”
The Greece manager, who previously starred for Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, also expects the departures of Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha to be problematic.
After registering an opening day victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers, Poyet hopes that their new signings can settle down and adapt to the Premier League.
“Now the problem is the players they have lost,” Poyet said.
“Raphinha and Phillips were the standout players of the squad. Leeds played well against Wolves, but let’s hope the players settle down soon because the Premier League is a hard competition.”
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