Leeds United lost again at the weekend. They’ve now lost as many games this season as Man Utd, the biggest joke in football. They currently lie 17th in the Premier League, with only two wins all season, and will soon embark upon a run that includes arguably the three most difficult fixtures in world football in the space of four games, with the other being against Arsenal. Time to panic? Absolutely not.

There’s an abundance of positives to take from our trip to a stadium so lavish that nobody can afford the naming rights. For 45 minutes Leeds played Tottenham off the park, a team that was assembled at great cost, containing some world-class players and a world-class manager. Leeds also have a world-class manager, and a world-class player in Kalvin Phillips, and Phillips’ stifling of Harry Kane from centre-back was a masterclass by both. Adam Forshaw was brilliant again, looking every bit the Champions League midfielder that Bielsa thinks he could be, and Gelhardt had a superb full debut up front. I hope he keeps his place, forever. Dan James bagged his first goal and finally looked like a top-class winger, while Harrison bagged his first assist of the season in a welcome return to form. Dallas and Klich were much more like the best versions of themselves too, and Pascal Struijk impressed again at left-back, or wherever he was meant to be playing. Granted, when Spurs got their act together in the second half Leeds struggled to regain the upper hand. Bielsa tinkered to try and fix things but only made it worse. We still ended up with an impressive 18 shots on goal, but we ran out of steam and never really looked like equalising. Good job then, that we have an England international striker waiting to return from injury, along with a German international defender, a Spain international forward, a former Barcelona left-back, an influential right-back, and the new star of Brazilian football. Not bad eh? 

Well, apparently we need signings, according to almost everyone, it seems. I’m not so sure. There’s no guarantee that anyone we can afford, who is available in January and willing to come to a bottom-half team, will be good enough to improve us, or even feature soon enough to make a difference. New signings may not even solve our injury crisis, considering that most of Bielsa’s signings have struggled with injuries while acclimatising to his murderous training regime. I don’t expect any new signings in January, and I’m sure we will climb the table regardless, because Leeds United have a good squad already, with players who adore their manager and are more dedicated, fitter, and more coherent than any other team in the Premier League. The league table doesn’t lie, but at this stage it can still mislead, and El Loco’s team is not the relegation fodder it currently suggests. They are a team who has suffered a difficult start to the season and are finding their feet. The last two games have been a big improvement, and when our injured players return we will improve even more. 

It’s not nice being 17th, but we have Marcelo Bielsa at the helm and he is building something special – buying expensive players to cover every eventuality will never be part of his plan. Off the pitch he’s building a special gym for his staff and himself, so he can condition his body for the final years of his career at Elland Road. All the signs suggest that El Loco is in it for the long haul, we may not even be halfway through the journey, and his methods offer our best chance of competing with the super-rich, getting back into Europe, and finally reaching the Promised Land. In the short-term his methods offer our best chance of moving up the table, so roll with the punches, savour each victory that bit more, and above all else, trust the process. 

Rocco Dean - Author of Marcelo Bielsa vs The Damned United (order on Amazon)