Marcelo Bielsa's pre-season regimes are a thing of legend.
Leeds United fans now know exactly how hard the Argentine works his squad in pre-season training, pushing his players harder than they have ever been pushed in order to meet his exacting standards to ensure that his style of play can be carried out on the pitch when the season start.
The bulk of the current Leeds squad are undergoing a third pre-season under Bielsa right now, something no other set of club players can say they've ever done. The 4-0 win over Charlton Athletic that capped Leeds' Championship title-winning season was his 100th game in charge of the club, with only his two-year spell at Athletic Bilbao, where the club enjoyed a host a long cup run, seeing him manage more games.
Bielsa's second century will begin with a mouthwatering clash against Liverpool at Anfield in just over two weeks and he is preparing his squad for the Premier League return in the most obvious way - working them harder than they've ever worked before.
Speaking to LUTV, Mateusz Klich opened up on just how hard he and his teammates are having to work at Thorp Arch this summer.
"I think this one is the most intense and the hardest one yet," the Pole said. "Obviously we didn't have much holidays but to be fair I couldn't wait to start next season so I don't really want to have more holidays."
Just six players of the current squad have any Premier League experience, but Klich insists that making the step up does not intimidate him at all.
"Some of the boys were already in the Premier League and have some games but I've never been and for me it's going to be a nice expierence. Obviously it's the best league in the world so I just can't wait."
The 30-year-old saw his record of playing in every Championship and play-off match under Bielsa end in the club's penultimate match of last season at Pride Park, but he appreciates that a record like that will be even harder to achieve next season.
"It would be amazing but I think the Premier League is a little bit different to the Championship. It's going to be harder for us but we just can't wait to start and then we will see because we have a very good team, we're very fit so it's going to be a nice ride."
