Leeds United managing director Angus Kinnear spoke exclusively to LUTV about the appointment of Marcelo Bielsa.

The experienced former Argentina and Chile manager was named head coach of the Whites last Friday.

Kinnear believes an exciting season lies ahead after the club managed to secure the services of the 62-year-old and spoke about Bielsa’s already extensive knowledge of both Leeds United and the Sky Bet Championship.

“It has been a fantastic reaction and we have been thrilled with the enthusiasm of the fans,” said Kinnear.

“They clearly understand Marcelo’s track record, his standing in the global game and it is great that they are as delighted as we are to have him on board.

“It is going to be an exciting season, people want to see his philosophy in action and see what he is going to do with Victor Orta in the transfer market and how he is going to fair in a very competitive league, but he is very confident.

“Andrea Radrizzani has always been very ambitious with the club and he sees no limits on that and we are very fortunate to have Victor and his connections, there is nobody in world football that Victor can’t get to and they both really sold Marcelo on the project.

“I think getting Leeds back into the Premier League is one of the biggest jobs in world football and Marcelo understands that, along with the scale of the challenge and the prize.

“He was taken by the opportunity and the project, he has had a number of offers from Premier League clubs to work in England over the last few years and I think it is significant that Leeds United was the right offer for him.

“Marcelo has already done a massive amount of work in terms of the research he has done on our squad, he has a superb understanding of our strengths and weaknesses, both player by player and as a unit.

“Andrea and Victor met him for two days and myself and Victor went out for another two days and we effectively had a four day discussion, he not only has a fantastic understanding of our team, but also our league as well.

“In our first meeting with him, he already had technical drawings of Thorp Arch and very clear ideas on the layout and how it needs to work from a functional basis to deliver on his principles and methodology.

“Transfer targets have already been discussed, during the signing process he was more focused on the team preparations, than getting the finer details of his contract agreed, so we are well advanced with what we need to do.  

Following the announcement of Bielsa’s appointment, there was a surge in season ticket sales over the weekend and Kinnear also spoke about this.

He said: “The season ticket sales reaction has taken us by surprise, but I think people have realised this is a season not to be missed.

“We are sold out in a lot of areas and if supporters want to get a seat in a specific area of the ground, I would advise them to act now.”

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You can see the full interview with Angus Kinnear below: