Javi Gracia has revealed the first message he told his Leeds United players after succeeding Jesse Marsch in the Elland Road dugout.
The former Watford boss has been employed on a 'flexible contract', and made the ideal start by defeating relegation rivals Southampton in his debut game on Saturday
Leeds produced a solid performance to climb out of the relegation zone, with Junior Firpo delivering the decisive strike in the 74th minute.
READ ALSO: Javi Gracia coy on Leeds United injuries ahead of FA Cup clash with Fulham
But Gracia insists that he has embraced the work done by his predecessor Marsch, and revealed that his main focus was to increase confidence levels, and provide each player with clarity on their responsibilities on the pitch.
"When I arrived, the first thing I said to the players, I wanted to be clear, was I wanted to be respectful with all of the work that they had done before," Gracia said in his pre-match press conference.
"From that point, we needed to change something. You have to speak about the past, if you want to improve, if you want to change something, but always being full of respect because I think they did a great job before I came here.
"We try to concentrate all the information, all the things we want to change, and to prepare for the next games with videos and in training sessions, and try to help the players to feel confidence on the pitch and to know clearly what they have to do.
"It's the only things we tried, and it was good because the result was good. Not only the result but I thought the performance was good. We were solid, we were compact, we didn't concede many chances. We played a good game."
READ NEXT:
Leeds United's Ben White loan credited as 'perfect' example of utilising system
Leeds United pair Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie slammed for recent conduct
Max Wober's arrival has brought out the best in Junior Firpo at Leeds United
Javi Gracia seal of approval as supercomputer boosts survival forecast after Southampton win
Leeds United's next five fixtures compared to relegation rivals as Whites climb out of bottom three
