Marcelo Bielsa happy as Leeds manager, but says Whites should wait until end of the season before opening new contract talks

Marcelo Bielsa believes Leeds United should not rush when it comes to making the decision over whether to extend his contract, with the manager believing delaying talks until the end of the season is wisest.

However, Elland Road cult hero Bielsa, who penned a one-year extension after guiding Leeds back into the Premier League last year, insists his comments do not mean he wants to leave Elland Road.

“The first thing I want to highlight, because what it seems like is that the president is offering me an extension and I am delaying it,” Bielsa said.

“It could be interpreted as the club having more of a desire for me to stay than I do and that’s not the case.

“In no way do I want to position myself above the club. I reiterate, I am not going to manage any other options until my job here at Leeds is done. There is no speculation from my part.”

Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani has made it clear he wants Bielsa to remain in the role and that the club were waiting for the Argentine’s decision.

Bielsa added: “The second thing is that the decision to work in a club for another year is so important that you must have a clear security.

“When you have a third of the season left to play, perhaps in this period there will be things that happen that will alter the judgement that is useful to have in mind. That is my reasoning. So I go to what you ask me.

“If the club needs and answer before the end of the season, I will respond before the end of the season.

“But if this happens I will take the time to tell them that they should consider what happens in the last part of the season.

“In this case it’s possible that they could say to me ‘OK, we’ll wait until the end of the season’, or they may say to me ‘no, we need to resolve this before the end of the season’. If they need a response prior to the end of the season then I will give one.”