Leeds United midfielder Mateusz Klich is struggling to maintain fitness at the moment as he loses his iron grip on a starting berth.
The Whites have benefitted hugely from Marcelo Bielsa’s strict training regime since he took over, proving themselves to be far fitter than the rest of the Championship as they surged to promotion.
Even in the Premier League, Leeds are showing their superiority in that regard and not many teams have been able to keep pace.
A lot of claims about ‘burnout’ have been made with little substance or proof behind them, based on how Bielsa has managed the team throughout all three of his seasons so far.
Mateusz Klich has seen one of the biggest improvements to his game under the Argentine’s stewardship, being brought back in from the cold to become a guaranteed starter for the Whites.
It saw him start all-but one of Bielsa’s 94 Championship games, missing out in the trip to Derby County after the league title was already clinched last season.
However, he’s started on the bench four times this season as he struggles for both form and fitness.
He commented on his current battles to regain his starting berth with Polish outlet Sportowe Fakty.
“I admit that yes, that’s why I’ve been resting more in the club lately,” Klich said.
“I started two matches on the bench. Over the last three years I have “loaded” some of these games, and I have not had any holidays.
“Fortunately, I was avoiding serious injuries, but minor ones started to happen to me. From overload, from intensity. My joints don’t hurt yet, I’m only 30 years old, but something hurts.
“At the club, we also train very hard between meetings, so it’s hard to regain freshness. I hope to catch my breath, because I have the best matches when I am physically prepared.”
Anyone can see that Klich doesn’t look up to his usual standards at the moment and his tiredness might be a factor.
Having to jet off for an international break won’t help his cause in that regard either, so he could have done with sitting these Poland games out.
It’s a shame that he hasn’t been able to continue the form he showed in the first few games, because he’s one of our better players when he’s firing.
Hopefully, he can regain his best fitness levels as we approach the tough April run.