Player weights are healthier than they have ever been at Leeds United along with a raft of fitness measures that leave Jesse Marsch in bullish mood on his squad’s condition. Speaking about how the Whites had coped with the break between Brentford and Aston Villa, the head coach said the physical data was at ‘levels they’ve never been at.’
With Stuart Dallas, Adam Forshaw and Archie Gray the only injury concerns going into last weekend, United’s treatment list was the shortest it had been in a very long time. The overall physical picture at Elland Road looks even rosier when you consider what came before.
Marcelo Bielsa’s regime was known for being hard work, but it did create arguably the fittest squads in the Championship and Premier League seasons he was at the helm. The physical output delivered by the players underlined that fact.
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“My whole approach is just about maximising moments and being creative in that and innovative in that, but also demanding from everyone we don't stop, we're relentless in our mentality to improve and so we've used this time well,” said Marsch.
“We've done more 11 vs 11 than we normally have because of the fact we haven't had the games on the weekends, we've done more intra-squad 11 vs 11 than normal. I believe we're strong, we're fit.
“The lads have put a lot of work into the gym, which is one of the reasons why they're fit and strong. Even when we've done body mass indexes and these kinds of things, they're at levels they've never been at.
“So, right now, we feel good about their fitness levels, their concentration levels, their desire, their understanding of the way we want to play. We've moved the needle and now we have some big tests, and we've got to show that we're ready for those.”
The body mass index is a measure that uses someone’s height and weight to work out if their weight is healthy. In other words, Marsch has said the players’ weights are healthier than they have ever been.
Bielsa set the bar very high for fitness data at Leeds. Many of the players said it was career-best condition they were in and yet Marsch is now saying the current numbers are unprecedented for this group.
That’s a squad in good nick.
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