“I want him to become dangerous” – Jesse Marsch urges Jack Harrison to become ‘son of a b***h on the pitch’ for Leeds United

New Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch feels that Jack Harrison should not bring his "nice-guy" personality to the pitch. Marsch took over from Marcelo Bielsa as Leeds manager last month. He believes that the winger should play with more aggression to develop his authority in the game.

Marsch has taken a keen interest in following developments in Harrison's career since he was in college in the US as a teenager. The American wanted to scoop Harrison up for the New York Red Bulls in 2016, but he joined their MLS rivals New York City FC.

“When we’ve had players from the US or MLS come over here, I’ve tried to see what their adaptation has been like and how they’ve grown, I could see that Jack, even while on loan, had taken on a lot of new responsibility here and developed as a player. You could see he was getting better and better." - Jesse Marsch H/T Mirror.

Since then, the 48-year-old has tracked his progress at Manchester City, Middlesbrough, and Leeds United. He knows from playing against Harrison in the MLS that he is very respectful towards his opponents. Marsch now wants to bring out his unseen nasty side and unleash his potential to help his side in a possible Premier League relegation dogfight.

“Getting to know him, he was always the type of player who after a game was always very respectful to the opponents’ coach and would shake my hand and say ‘good game’. I’d heard he was a really good young man and it’s clear to see that. What I’ve tried to say to him is that it’s OK to be a good, young man and a son of a b***h on the pitch." - The Leeds boss adds.

Marsch tweaking Leeds United's approaches

Former manager Marcelo Bielsa adopted Leeds United to play the wingers on both flanks by hugging the touchline. The Argentine made it transparent that he saw it as the best method to complement the high octane attack of his side. He said:

“He has such quality and my goal is to push him, and his personality, and his level of play on the field so that he can use all his qualities as a human being to benefit him to continue to grow as a player. I want him to become dangerous and effective and as big a part of the team I believe he can be.”

Jack Harrison was Bielsa's go-to man for the job on the left flank, often coming in handy unwarranted into the developing Leeds United attack. Unlike Bielsa, Marsch prefers to play with a narrow formation, generating more compactness upfront.

“I’m asking him to play a little bit different role than what he played before where he was a wide winger. I want him to play inside at times and to be aggressive in certain moments. He can do that. He’s intelligent and understands how to apply himself.” - Marsch concludes.

Compromising the robustness upfront by relinquishing the players on the inside makes them available to transition without the ball. This allows them to also contribute in defensive areas. Thus, the American coach wants Harrison to come inside more from the wide areas.