Leeds United employee issues ‘massive’ Jesse Marsch claim as new face arrives
Noel Whelan has claimed new assistant head coach Rene Maric’s experience at the top level will be “invaluable” in helping Leeds United progress.
The former Whites striker, speaking exclusively to Football Insider, backed the 29-year-old to prove success doesn’t necessarily correlate with spending the most on new players.
Leeds United confirmed the appointment of Maric on Saturday (30 July) – with the Croatian coming in as assistant head coach.
He has extensive experience at a number of top clubs despite being just 29 years old, having had spells at Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Monchengladbach, and RB Salzburg.
Marsch said Maric was the “perfect fit” for the role and insisted his “footballing philosophies are very similar” to that of his new assistant.
Whelan insisted the new addition will be a “massive help” for the American coach in his first full season at Elland Road.
“It’s about intelligence and information behind the scenes, it’s not all about spending money on players,” he told Football Insider‘s Ewan Kingsbury.
“This is someone who has spent a lot of time around top-quality players and successful teams. He can pass all that knowledge on and help improve these players, it’s invaluable.
“It’s not all about buying the best players for the most money. It’s about the coaching, making them better on and off the ball and mentally as well.
“It’ll give them every attribute to be successful. It’s a great signing and a massive help for the manager.”
Leeds United start their season against Wolves on Saturday (6 August).
The Whites finished 17th last term.
In other news, Football Insider updates as Leeds United agree deal with highly-rated youngster.