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Leeds boss Jesse Marsch felt the pressure of playing in front of a packed Elland Road had a negative effect on his players as they lost 3-0 to Aston Villa.

In what was the American’s first match in charge on home soil, the Whites were 1-0 behind at half-time. Philippe Coutinho’s deflected strike gave the Villans a deserved lead after the hosts poor first-half showing. They began the second period in much better fashion.

But Matty Cash’s 65th-minute strike and a superb effort from Calum Chambers ensured the points went back to the West Midlands. The home faithful were in full voice as they tried to spur their heroes into action.

However it had no impact on the Leeds players who were not at the races during the first period. Marsch was left bemused by his charges’ display and proffered his own reasons as to why they were so poor early on.

“Disjointed. A little bit surprised not to be as clear as we were at Leicester,” he told BBC Sport. “I heard a lot about Elland Road and the energy and it was fantastic and I think we have a group who wants to perform for the fans so hard they are almost in some ways chained by the pressure and aren’t able to be clear and play with more confidence.”

And the former RB Leipzig chief felt his players responded well after taking stock of the situation in the dressing room.

“We addressed that at half time and our best spell was the 15 minutes after the break,” he added. “At 2-0 it made it hard and we were not able to climb back into the match.”

Marsch under no illusions

Leeds are embroiled in a fight for Premier League survival, sitting just two places above the relegation zone. They are two points better off than 18th-placed Burnley but have played two games more.

Marsch is aware of the task ahead and knows getting his methods across in a short space of time was always going to be tricky.

“We have to continue to stay strong and be calm and be clear in what we try to achieve on the pitch,” he continued. “It comes with performance. In the second half we were able to bring the crowd into the match and almost find a chance to create a couple of half chances and maybe get a goal.

“It is a big job right now, a big job to help the group be confident, help them to be clear and to transition not just tactically but also with the overall mentality of what the team has been.

“I knew it would not be an automatic flip of the switch but you can see we have more work to do and not much time to get it done.”

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