Leeds head coach Jesse Marsch has charged that the media in England is “so ridiculous,” accusing some of harboring “prejudice” against him because he is American.
Marsch and Leeds managed to avoid relegation on the final day of the Premier League season, defeating Brentford 2-1 to secure their status in the top flight.
After taking over from Marcelo Bielsa in February, Marsch – who began the season as RB Leipzig head coach before he was sacked – led Leeds to 1.25 points per game, an improvement from 0.88 under Bielsa on the season.
But Marsch has said he’s had to battle prejudicial attitudes in England since his arrival as only the second American head coach in Premier League history.
“We can call it whatever you want, xenophobia or whatever, but it’s a form of prejudice,” Marsch said on “The Football Show” on SiriusXM FC.
“Some people don’t allow that kind of behavior to happen and will treat me based on what I am or what our team is, and that’s ultimately what it should be,” Marsch added.
“But it’s frankly ridiculous that they don’t like to hear an American accent in their sport in their country. It’s horrible, right? But I’m OK with it. I can handle it. And there’s nothing happening like that inside our team – actually the total opposite. We have total belief. We have commitment where the guys I think have responded really well to my leadership style. They like the type of football that we’re playing. I’m a big communicator, so I try to engage everybody to make everybody feel part of what we’re doing.”
‘The media in England is so ridiculous!’
Marsch recalled a press conference he gave after Leeds lost 4-0 to Manchester City in April, during which he attempted to put a positive spin on a heavy defeat.
“After the match I said in the press conference that in many ways it was a win, and people over here, they go crazy, right? The media in England is so ridiculous!” Marsch said.
“Any one thing that the American says, they want to just jump on and they want to then ridicule and find holes. Whatever, I don’t care, I’m not changing who I am. I’m going to be the leader that I want to be and I’m going to work hard with the group that I work with, and we’re going to find ways to grow and get better and succeed and that’s what we did.”
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