Life in Marsch's not so fast lane

Adam Pope, BBC Radio Leeds

For three and half years, Leeds United, with Marcelo Bielsa at the wheel, drove through the Championship and into the Premier League at break-neck speed. So life outside the fast lane was always going to take a little acclimatising to for both players and supporters.

There was a moment in the second half of Saturday's 1-1 draw with Southampton where you could feel the bewilderment of 36,500 fans inside Elland Road, as the expected quick throw out from United goalkeeper Illan Meslier to left-back Stuart Dallas did not transpire. He held on to the ball to drop the tempo.

Afterwards, head coach Jesse Marsch used this example when asked how he manages wanting his team to play with intensity yet remain calm.

"We have a term we call 100 to 70," explained the American. "It means, in certain moments, we want them to slow down a little bit. Not always physically, but also in their heads with the ball, so they have a bit more poise and control with how to put together the next play."

Marsch had already read the room. "When we play here the fans don't want to see 100 to 70, they want to see 100 to 150! You can see when Illan catches the ball the fans want him to play it immediately. I'm learning more and more about our fans in every match, and I'm enjoying it in the process."

After two defeats and two epic late victories, maybe it took an honours-even contest to assess more of the impact Marsch is having on his squad after the international break. To pick one aspect, there is definitely more solidity in defence, which means not every corner conceded is being watched through fingers any more.

The former RB Leipzig boss has a plan and he is pleased with how it is being implemented. He mentioned an improved "positional discipline", and how "for us to understand what the rhythm of the game can look like, what the flow is like, what the tempo changes can look like, finding ways to control matches more will be important for us".

For Marsch, it seems learning when to decelerate is just as important as keeping the pedal to the metal for Leeds United to successfully steer through the Premier League.