Leeds United head coach Javi Gracia has done his best to make the most out of what has been a challenging international break. The head coach could do little but watch on as a host of senior names left camp to link up with their national teams last week to leave him with a severely reduced group at Thorp Arch.
Of course, Gracia was keen to see those left behind get some much-needed rest at this crucial stage of the Premier League season and he did give them time to recharge their batteries. But, he also got through some work on the training ground, building up the fitness of those returning from injuries such as Rodrigo and Luis Sinisterra and making the improvements needed, on a collective and individual basis, for the run-in.
The Spaniard also took the opportunity to get to grips with some of those currently working their way through the academy system by bringing them into the senior environment. Gracia has taken an interest in the club’s Under-21s since arriving in February and after watching Paco Gallardo’s side in action earlier this month, he spent time on the training ground with them during the break before turning his full attention to this weekend’s fixture against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.
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“We have the chance to train with seven or eight players during the last week and we try to take this time to recover in the best condition,” Gracia said in his pre-match press conference on Thursday afternoon. “The rest of the players were with the different national teams.
“We prepare in two days, yesterday and today, and we have time tomorrow. This is the time we’ve had with all the players.”
He added: “The last two weeks I think have been good for us. We didn’t have many players but it was time to train with players from the U21s and to know more about them and improve their level to be better.
“After that we try to prepare for the game and do something orientated to the next game but today we couldn’t do it in the best way.”
Gracia has already made a noticeable impact at Elland Road to turn Leeds’ form around and propel them out of the division’s relegation zone. It’s no surprise, then, that he’s happy with the progress he has seen so far, but he knows in order to secure survival in the coming months, plenty more needs to be done.
"I try to give my idea and help the players give their best, not only individually but collectively as well," he said. “I think we are doing well not only because we have good results, I think the different performances we’ve had are always good performances, compete in all the games with options to get good results in all the games we’ve played.
“I think it’s the best way for the future. We know in this month we have to play many games and we have to improve our level to achieve our target.”
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