Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch knows a big point when he sees one, even if he was aiming for three.
Leeds found a stoppage-time equalizer to draw Brighton and Hove Albion 1-1 at Elland Road on Sunday, sending the stadium into delirium and their club out of the bottom three with a week to go in the season.
“Our goal was to get three today but we knew that any points and Burnley weren’t getting any could shift the pressure a little bit the other way.
Marsch said. “Burnley still has a match in hand but to fight that way, to stay in the match… I think second half was actually quite good and we were unlucky not to come away with more.”
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This is Marsch’s first true relegation battle and the boss is coming through it with his growing reputation in tact. Even if Leeds were to be relegated, he’s bettered the same unit’s record under Marcelo Bielsa in terms of points-per-game and his players keep fighting despite a very difficult run of fixtures.
And perhaps his emotional style and unorthodox (for England) messaging is delivering the goods.
“This is a psychological battle here,” Marsch said. “We have to stay strong. We have to show up next week. What you see is we are put in difficult situations and the resolve of our team. We need to be able to show that at the beginning of matches too. It is a fight. It is a fight. It is not easy. Nothing comes easy for us. We seem to dig holes and then have to find a way to dig out. We are ready. We are going to invest everything we have in this last match and see if we can do this.”
Leeds finish away to Brentford, while Everton and Burnley both play midweek before finishing Sunday.
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Jesse Marsch: Leeds ‘investing everything’ in ‘psychological battle’ for Premier League safety originally appeared on NBCSports.com