Marcelo Bielsa is adamant he will not walk away from Leeds mid-season but admits his players’ faith in him has been eroded during their slump in form.  

The Argentinian coach has overseen seven defeats in 10 games to leave his team three points above the relegation zone ahead of Saturday’s clash with Tottenham at Elland Road.  

And he says it is natural for players to lose confidence in their manager during such a poor run, regardless of their work over the last four years to get promoted to the Premier League together. 

“The players are like every human being, they give their all for those who are conducting them with a promise that, ‘I’m going do what you ask of me because in exchange of that we promise that we win’,” he said. 

“When we don’t manage to accomplish that promise, it would be naive to think the confidence in the leader is intact. 

“In no way have I verified that the players are slowly losing the faith in what a coach is proposing because I measure it by the effort they put in, but it would be naive to think in a moment of weakness like we’re in, the faith, confidence and credibility is the same.”

Bielsa is out of contract in the summer and he tends to make decisions on his future post-season. He has ruled out walking away during the campaign, adding: “The more adverse the situation is, the more I fortify myself to face it.”

Leeds’ injuries have been a major part of their slump in form and Bielsa confirmed Patrick Bamford is not yet working on grass after his foot injury. Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper have hamstring problems and their predicted returns in early March have been pushed back.   

Bielsa admits he must restore confidence that the team can return to winning ways. He also says he will not change his attacking, risky style of football.  

“When you go through moments like this when the confidence is lost in the leader, which is natural and logical, how can I defend myself when the team has defended the most goals in the Premier League?” he said.

“I daily try to resolve it. In the most difficult situation, I reiterate, when you are the conductor in a bad situation nobody trusts in what you are saying. What I am sure of is that if I stop doing what I believe in, the situation will get even worse.”