Huddersfield Town manager Danny Cowley has revealed he is relishing the challenge of taking on Leeds United and Marcelo Bielsa in tomorrow's West Yorkshire derby at the John Smith's Stadium.
Cowley's Huddersfield will welcome a Leeds side to HD1 that finds itself in blistering form, having won five Championship games on the bounce.
While Cowley, who has spoken in very high regard of his opposite number revealing his admiration for Bielsa, knows just how stern a test it will be for him and his players, he is looking forward to the challenge.
"We are very respectful of Marcelo Bielsa and his Leeds United team," said Cowley, speaking to BBC Radio Leeds. "There are not many people you would class a pioneer in football, but I remember his Chile team playing against England and it was the first time I had ever seen a team play as open and as expansive as his team did.
"They split the centre-halves to the corner flags, dominated possession on the day against a good England team, played across 11 lines and played in a way I had never seen before.
"From that moment onwards, as someone who loved the game, I always wanted to learn. We have kept a keen eye on what he has done and how he has done it.
"He has got his Leeds United team playing a really aggressive brand of football with a huge intensity. They run really, really hard for each other, play with purpose and they are going to be a really, really tough opponent.
"We look forward to that challenge. When you ultimately break Leeds United down, it is about passing and about running.
"They pass and they run forward, it is about penetration, you can see they work very hard on their double movements and their counter movements and have a real understanding of each other's space."
Not only are Leeds a great side when they have the ball at their feet, but they are also a tough side to break down when they are out of possession, with Cowley, who will be sampling this derby for the very first time, having taken a very close look at every element to the Whites' game.
Cowley continued: "When they haven't got the ball, they want to press really aggressively.
"It has been enjoyable to do the analysis and to get to this point, and to obviously formulate a game plan that will allow us to be competitive in the game."
