Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford has described the type of relationship Marcelo Bielsa has with each of his players at the Whites.
Bielsa has transformed the fortunes of much of Leeds’ squad since his arrival at Elland Road in 2018, including Bamford, who joined the club in the same summer as the Argentine.
During his first three seasons as the club, it was an almost constant upwards trajectory, as after missing out on promotion, the Whites won the Championship, before then securing a ninth-placed finish in the Premier League.
But the start of this campaign has arguably been Leeds’ toughest spell under Bielsa, amassing just 11 points from their opening 11 matches.
Bielsa has continued to place his trust in much of the squad that has got Leeds to this position in the first place, even despite the loss of form of some of his key players.
And Bamford, who has missed the last six league matches with an ankle injury, backs that theory up by explaining just how much belief the 66-year-old has in all of the squad.
Speaking to FootballJOE, he said: “[Bielsa is] Meticulous. Endearing. Passionate.
“I say endearing because I feel like he’s not the kind of person that you’re going to go to and look for an arm round [the shoulder] and someone to kind of give you that boost.
“But in terms of the way he believes in us, and the amount of time he puts into each individual player.
“In order to do that, you have to have a lot of, not just respect for someone, but you have to really kind of love them, almost like your son.
“I feel like there is that kind of relationship between him and all the players.”
