It was a victory for fortitude, for humility, and for Marcelo Bielsa. He overcame the London Curse, VAR and the worst injury crisis I’ve known in thirty years of watching English football to beat high flying West Ham on a remarkable Sunday afternoon. The three points lifted his threadbare team to within three points of the top half of the table, and just a few weeks after his lowest and most difficult period at Elland Road, El Loco’s reputation perhaps reached new heights.

The victory was more than a victory though. It was a lesson to all the Moaning Minnies, starting with the Premier League managers who constantly bemoan the injustice of having to play matches without their best players. Apart from boiling my blood, it flabbergasts me that elite level managers will demean the players that are available like they do, and it’s no surprise to see these teams dropping points amid such vociferous votes of no confidence. Marcelo Bielsa’s approach is very different, his faith in his squad is unwavering and they repay him week in week out by fighting to prove their manager right. It is a vicious cycle of positivity. At West Ham we saw why Bielsa has so much faith in his squad, and why he isn’t bothered about signing players. It wouldn’t be prudent to plan for an injury crisis of such biblical proportions, however you might say that Bielsa and Leeds have planned for it inadvertently, by building a strong squad of youth players and moulding them in the image of the first team. Youth players at other clubs are commodities that may turn a profit, who can only really hope for the odd appearance in the League Cup, but at Leeds they are intermingled with the first team, with a clear pathway that will focus them and drive them to be the best versions of themselves, ready to help the team and take their chance. 

Sunday was also a lesson for those Moaning Minnies closer to home, who seem to lose faith at the first sign of adversity. The club has been criticised for a lack of ambition and application when it comes to the transfer market, but these accusations are as unfair as they are disrespectful. The people at the top of the club are perfectly aligned with a clear and sensible strategy in place. That alone should not be underestimated. Perhaps the spate of injuries will cost us a few points, perhaps Christian Eriksen and Ross Barkley would gain us a few more, but perhaps it is better to look on this situation as a chance to hone the stars of the future. Bielsa already has his 18-man senior squad, and behind them there is Gelhardt, Summerville, Bate, Cresswell and Hjelde, which forms a 25-man squad when you add two back-up keepers, and I for one wouldn’t want it to be any bigger. For this stage of the club’s development we have struck the perfect balance.

Sunday was also a victory for patience. Mateusz Klich returned to form after a year in the doldrums, Stuart Dallas continued his resurgence after a dark period in his personal life, and Robin Koch proved that he has what it takes to succeed in the KP role. Patience isn’t a word you would ever associate with Cody Drameh, and I can’t help but wonder whether Bielsa’s disparaging words about Drameh’s departure to Cardiff inspired the other youngsters. Pascal Struijk was made to stew over a mistake for seven months before getting another chance in the first team, Meslier was made to watch Kiko the Klown’s antics for eight months before he got his chance, now both are elite Premier League players with international honours certain to follow. Patience is a two-way street, and if you give Bielsa reason to believe in you he will stick by you until you succeed. 

So Leeds’s season has finally been kick-started, and for the first time we can look up rather than down. Another top-half finish has to be the target, so it is vital to keep the momentum going against Newcastle. Leeds will not be relegated this season whatever the result next weekend, but we are three points from leaving the bottom three in our dust. Get them on the board and we can stop glancing in the rear-view mirror, stop fretting over the worst-case scenarios, and start dreaming again of what might be possible in this golden age of Marcelo Bielsa. 

Rocco Dean - Author of Marcelo Bielsa vs The Damned United and NOW The O’leary Years (order on Amazon)