Criticised by many as the chief architect of not only Leeds United’s bad form, but also symptomatic of everything bad at the club, Giuseppe Bellusci has found an expected ally in head coach Steve Evans, according to a BBC Radio Leeds ‘West Yorkshire Sport’ post-match interview (bottom of page)
In the last two games, against first Rotherham and then QPR, two errors from the Italian defender called the ‘Warrior’ have cost Leeds United dearly, losing against the Millers from a drawing position and drawing against QPR after leading with three minutes left.
Leeds fans have been pretty brutal in their assessment of Bellusci’s suitability to be a part of the Leeds United side, with some even harking back a year to his inclusion in the ‘Sicknote Six’ who ‘avoided’ selection in the Charlton as longer-term evidence of his unsuitablility.
When questioned by Adam Pope about Bellusci’s ‘poor decision-making and game management’, Evans replied to the question by reiterating the fact that his job is to protect all players under his command. Evans said: “Well I protect all my players. It doesn’t matter when they make mistakes, it’s my job to control that within the confines of the dressing room.
Continuing the conversaton with Popey, Evans went on saying: “Often, as you know, as a head coach where perhaps, where some things you discuss in your dressing room, you have to not be discussing when you come out public. We have more issues on the park. Giuseppe Bellusci obviously gives a penalty away and its just a little bit of a rash challenge from behind the player.”
Continuing with the vein of what he sees as the the important way to deal with players and how to look after them, Evans is quite adamant that clubs need to protect their players and deal with issues in private and in-house. The Leeds United head coach ended this portion of the interview by saying: “We never write our hands, write players off at any stage, at any club I’m at.”
The full QPR post-match interview with Steve Evans
