Former Leeds United defender Ben Parker believes the win over Stoke City on the first day of the season was a real statement of intent by Marcelo Bielsa.
Leeds got rid of Paul Heckingbottom in the summer and gambled on appointing much heralded and mercurial Argentine coach Bielsa as their new boss.
The former Athletic Bilbao and Marseille boss was quick to put his stamp on the squad with a rigorous pre-season plan, which put the players through the ringer ahead of the start of the new campaign.
There was anticipation around Leeds ahead of the first game of the season and Bielsa’s men produced a top class performance to play Stoke off the park at home in a 3-1 win.
Parker admits there was a different feeling around Leeds on the first day of the campaign and it was backed up by that first performance at Elland Road.
He also feels the result and the performance also helped Bielsa to win the confidence of his players, who were forced to go through a rigorous pre-season training regime.
Parker said on LUTV when asked about his favourite Leeds performance so far this season: “I’ll go all the way back to the first game of the season.
“I know it was against a Stoke side where the big names players they still have, they probably haven’t performed anywhere near to what they have done previously.
“But there was such hype around Bielsa, how Leeds are going to perform and the brand of football they are going to play.
“It was a boiling hot day on the first day of the season and the performance from Bielsa’s team was a breath of fresh air.
“Even walking to the stadium amidst the fans, there was a real buzz and excitement and you felt something little bit different.”
Parker continued: “And I thought it put a good marker down for the players as everyone knows about pre-season – tough and three sessions a day and it was not really nice at all.
“But it proved to the players the hard work went in for a reason.”
