Sam Allardyce has accused Jesse Marsch and Javi Gracia of destroying the fitness levels that the Leeds United team attained under Marcelo Bielsa during his time at Elland Road.
Leeds appointed Allardyce in desperation as they sought to avoid getting relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2022/23 season.
However, the former Bolton and West Ham boss could do little to stop the slide and lost three of his four games in charge as Leeds dropped to the Championship.
The 2022/23 campaign was a turbulent one for Leeds as they churned through managers following the stability that Bielsa brought to the club during his reign at Elland Road.
The Argentinian was sacked in early 2021 as Leeds sought to avoid the drop and Jesse Marsch successfully managed to keep the Whites in the Premier League.
However, the American was sacked in February 2023 and he was replaced by Gracia who lasted just 12 games and was shown the door in favour of Allardyce.
Sam Allardyce insists Jesse Marsch and Javi Gracia destroyed the fitness levels of the Leeds players
Leeds were known for their fitness levels under Bielsa as he got them back to the Premier League in 2020 but Allardyce insisted that the team he found was far from the side that the Argentinian built.
He claimed that Marsch and Gracia completely destroyed the fitness levels of the whole team and they were a far cry from the Bielsa side that used to outrun and outlast their opponents.
Allardyce feels if the team were fit enough, he would have had a chance of keeping Leeds in the Premier League at the end of the 2022/23 season.
“The biggest disappointment about Leeds was their fitness had gone from hero to zero since Bielsa leaving”, Allardyce said on the Under the Cosh Podcast.
“In less than 12 months, they had gone from the top of the tree to third from bottom. Two previous coaches had completely destroyed the fitness level of the team.
“We couldn’t maintain or sustain our level. I just couldn’t believe it. If they had the fitness levels they used to have we would definitely have had a chance.
“We can stay in a game, they used to win games in the last five minutes Leeds, because they out-sustained the fitness levels of the opposition.
“They were way off, miles away, in the bottom three of the Premier League. He was old school Bielsa – if you don’t run, you don’t play.”
Allardyce has not been back in management since leaving Leeds while Jesse Marsch is in charge of the Canadian national team.
