Marcelo Bielsa rubbishes Leeds ‘promotion’ talk, saying ‘we’ve only played two games’

Leeds United have impressed over the first two matches, beating Derby County and Stoke City, teams that were favoured going into the match. With Stoke City even being one of the favourites for promotion, and given the ease of which that Leeds dispatched of them, Leeds has reportedly shot to the top of the betting charts as favourites for promotion.

Marcelo Bielsa was apparently unimpressed with idea that Leeds are now favourites for promotion.

Bielsa responded to a question about if Leeds were now considered favourites to be promoted by saying:

If you think we are favourites to go up, we only played two games so far. We shouldn’t trust this kind of information because we have only played two games.

Two games is not enough to make conclusions on a team. We all know that and you know that. You ask me a question but you don’t believe in it - after just playing five per cent of the Championship, or less than five per cent. I’m sure you don’t share the concept that gives substance to the question.

He’s right that Leeds still have 44 matches to go in the Championship season. After all, let’s not forget that Leeds was flying high last season in August, only for everything to fall apart in January after a loss to Newport County in the FA Cup. He noted that Leeds’ final position after 23 games, or half the season, last year was 4th place, 9 places higher than where Leeds ended the season.

It’s been said on social media by a whole ton of people that we shouldn’t read too much into these first two matches, that despite the victories, that there will eventually be poor runs of form. And it sounds like Bielsa is not letting the players rest on their laurels too much either.

All of this is good. While Leeds have been brilliant, it’s not time to get ahead of ourselves. The Championship, more than perhaps any other league in world football, is a marathon, not a sprint.