Pablo Hernandez has made a dream start to his coaching career, as one of the heroes of Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United team has embarked on his first steps in management
After ending his playing career with his hometown club CD Castellon, Hernandez has been thrust into a coaching role as interim manager of the club.
Hernandez has enjoyed a dream start in the position, going unbeaten in four matches and introducing a new style of play at Castellon, earning praise from the Spanish media in the process.
Speaking ahead of his fifth game in charge of Castellon, Hernandez outlined the key elements of his coaching philosophy as his side begin to look up the table rather than down.
Having previously admitted that a conversation with Marcelo Bielsa changed his career, the influence of the former Leeds boss remains clear, following Hernandez’s latest comments.
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Pablo Hernandez opens up on his coaching philosophy
Speaking to the Spanish media ahead of his side’s game against Albacete, there were definitely echoes of Bielsa as Hernandez was asked what he had changed about his side to prompt such a dramatic upturn in form.
According to the former Leeds favourite, Castellon go into every game trying to win, and they want to be an attacking team that takes the game to their opponents, which is reminiscent of Bielsa’s approach at Leeds.
Hernandez said: “I think the idea and the style of the team, in terms of how we approach games, has not changed. I think we are still an offensive team, a team that seeks to have the ball and attack in the opponent’s half as much as possible.
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“I think the team already had that, and it has been doing it not only this season but the previous season and in the past one or two years.
“We have been able to adjust a few things, like defending a bit more together, giving the opponents less space. It is easier because you are closer to the ball. These are details that maybe have changed a bit, but I think that the idea and the style of the team and the mentality have not changed.
“It remains the same. We have already said that, whether we are at home or away, we are going to try and win all the games, whoever our opponent is. Obviously, then there will be an added difficulty depending on the opponent you have, but our mentality in each game has always been and remains the same.”
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What Marcelo Bielsa said about his approach with Leeds United
Bielsa was notorious for his commitment to playing attacking football, both when the going was good, as Leeds stormed back into the Premier League, and when things were not going as well in his final months.
With Leeds struggling at the start of the 2021/22 season, Bielsa gave an interview to Sky Sports in which he justified his commitment to his side’s style of play, stating: “My motive is always to seek ways of winning.
“The position of those who want to see a different way of playing is understandable, as it’s human nature to not have tolerance towards adversity.
“The demand for us to stop being what we are increases when we stop having results. There’s another, more loyal way of looking at it, whereby the adversity which comes in the process of constructing a team in your image is tolerated.
“When something is broken or suffers, there are two options: you throw it away and change it for another, or you look after it and try to put it back together. It’s the same in life.”
Bielsa’s utter commitment to his principles earned him the loyal devotion of the Leeds fans and helped deliver the return to the Premier League that they had craved for so long.
If Hernandez can continue his dazzling start as a manager, he could one day command the same affection from the Elland Road crowd in the dugout, to follow his glorious success as a player.