Senior Members of the Leeds United squad were quick to rubbish rumours that they had called for the American to be sacked this week.
The players were incensed by a report in the media which said they had lost faith in their manager and wanted him to face the chop. So much so, they went to speak with Marsch to nip it in the bud before the coach could fear the worst, with Marsch later revealing just how upset the players were about the false rumours.
Jesse Marsch acknowledged the story had reached him when he spoke to the media on Wednesday night after the FA Cup replay victory over Cardiff City, and he was visibly upset by the rumours. He later explained that some senior members of the squad had taken the time to go and address the situation with himself and that shows how together the team and the club as a whole, really are.
Leeds’ managing director was seen embracing Marsch before the press conference in what was a true act of solidarity with the American.
As per LeedsLive, Marsch said, “They came to me and they want to make sure I know and everyone knows we’re together. I said they were angry.
“I can be criticised for a lot of things, right? If you just went on results and that’s what the discussion has been: the results haven’t been good enough. That’s enough fodder.”
“I don’t think anyone needs to try to invent anything else because the quality of people we have on the inside of this club is like nothing I’ve ever experienced. You can knock us for not getting the results we want and not playing at the level our expectations are of ourselves.”
“We have to be able to handle that and respond to that, but to question the character of what we’ve created here and what we’re about, that’s totally off base and I wanted to make sure I cut that out immediately.”
“We have to be able to handle that and respond to that, but to question the character of what we've created here and what we're about, that's totally off base and I wanted to make sure I cut that out immediately.” #lufc https://t.co/zCVV1XcYNH
— Leeds United Live (@liveleedsunited) January 20, 2023
He added, “A few of them came, a couple came together, a couple came separately. It wasn’t like they went out of their way to make a huge statement.”
“We interact here constantly as if we are teammates, right? This is how we work. We support each other always. It’s a really wonderful place to be.”
“I’m very thankful for the club, the players, the leadership. It’s special here. It was fairly clear we are together.”
Jesse Marsch will now prepare his squad for two crucial games in the Premier League against Brentford and Nottingham Forest, with both fixtures on either side of the FA Cup fourth-round tie with either Boreham Wood or Accrington Stanley. The tie is due to take place on the 28th of January with a 12:30 kick-off.
The game has been selected for tv broadcast and will be on the BBC.
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