Jesse Marsch has spoken with the media at his pre-match press conference, ahead of the Premier League fixture with Southampton this weekend.

The head coach is looking forward to returning to Elland Road to face an opponent he knows will give his side a tough test, and against a manager he has huge respect for.

Marsch began by giving another update on the fitness of his squad, after the two week international break.

He said: “Liam Cooper and Kalvin Phillips are in contention to start. I think they’re both probably not fully 90 minutes fit, but really close.

“I don’t think we can start both because then it is possibly two subs we have to make in the game, but we have to think carefully and we have a meeting today to discuss how they are.

“Both are feeling good and looking even better, so we are really excited to have them in the group now and think they can both have a massive impact. 

“Raphinha had Covid and then over the break we’ve had some Covid here as well, so the timing for us [international break] was pretty good, but coming back now we think everyone is free from those concerns, hopefully.

“We made the announcement on Patrick Bamford and personally I was really disappointed this happened to Patrick but this is the way it ended up. It felt like we were trying to create progression for him but this injury is a tricky one. We’re hopeful that the six week prognosis we gave is accurate. 

“Additionally, Leo Hjelde was back in training a little bit this week. He won’t be available for the weekend but is training. Junior Firpo is getting closer and is on schedule, and in a couple of weeks Jamie Shackleton will be available.

“Tyler Roberts is looking good and feeling good, he won’t be back this season but the surgery was good.”



Saturday’s opponents Southampton are currently 11th in the table, with the incentive that they could move as high as 9th with victory this weekend.

The Leeds United head coach knows the strengths of the opposition and also recalls fond memories spent working with and learning from his opposite number, Ralph Hasenhüttl.

“In 2016 and 2017, in the winter, Ralph was kind enough to allow me to join his staff for six to seven weeks in that time,” Marsch explained.

“He’s an incredible human being, that’s the first thing that needs to be said. He’s a really good person who cares about people and his teams in the environments he creates.

“He’s a sharp, intelligent manager and I think he believes in a lot of the same principles and philosophies that I believe in, in football. I learnt a lot in the weeks I spent with him.

“Maybe that helps our team and me to prepare for what his team is right now, but I look back and reflect on it as a really special time with him.

“I have watched a lot of their recent matches and I think they’ve been a bit unlucky to not do better in some of these matches.

“What they did against Norwich recently with and against the ball was good, and they’ve developed a few more tactical nuances with how they like to rotate in build up phases. 

“We have to understand when they create rotations and how we will attack in those moments.

“We’ve talked already a lot this week about Southampton and what to expect and what we want to look like against them.”