Former Leeds United striker Lee Chapman believes that Marcelo Bielsa's meticulous nature reminds him of 1990 promotion-winning boss Howard Wilkinson.
Chapman bagged 21 league goals as the Whites' won the 1989-90 Division One title and ended an eight-year stint in the second tier.
This is a feat Bielsa is looking to repeat, with it now being 16 years since Leeds graced the top flight and Chapman says the work that Bielsa puts in behind the scenes is reminiscent of what Wilkinson as doing 30 years ago.
"People talk about Bielsa now but Howard would send scouts everywhere to watch upcoming opponents and compile incredibly detailed reports on them," Chapman told our sister title the Sunday People.
"I used to dread some of our weekly team meetings as Howard would walk in with detailed 20-30 page dossiers which had been prepared by his scouts!
"He would then get us to watch videos of the opposition and was very big on his statistics — he was one of the very first managers to do that.
"The meetings were never quick.
That was unheard of then, but Howard was doing these kind of things three decades ago — and what we achieved at Leeds was incredible."
Chapman, who spent three years at Leeds between 1990 and 1993, also believes that Bielsa is well-placed to learn from last season's near-miss. "Leeds blew it a bit last year, when Bielsa over-trained them.That's what my friends up in Leeds tell me.
"Bielsa didn't realise how tough the Championship is - they burned out towards the end of last season. I'm told Bielsa has learned from that, so Leeds are now well placed to secure promotion when the season restarts."
