Koch wants strong pre-season for Leeds

Leeds defender Robin Koch has stressed the importance of this pre-season as boss Jesse Marsch aims to imprint his philosophy at Elland Road.

Marsch replaced Marcelo Bielsa in March with the Whites embroiled in a relegation fight, only managing to evade the drop with victory on the final day.

"Last season when he [Marsch] came, there was a lot of pressure and we needed the results," Koch told Leeds' official website, external. "But now we have some time to go through all the things and his ideas of playing.

"This is is now a good start for us to prepare, with the new coach [Jesse Marsch], to get a little bit more time to improve some of our play.

"We need to prepare and get fit to play a good season, with not as many injuries as last year. We’re looking forward to it and I think this is quite important for us."

Koch has enjoyed reuniting with his team-mates at Thorp Arch - but has relished a bit of time off.

"I think I can speak for all the team, we needed a break and some holidays, and I think we used it well to recover and get the body fit again," he said.

"All the team is happy to come back now everyone has recovered on their holidays. They’re all good boys, so now every year you are looking forward to seeing them again after some days off."