Leeds United title winner replicating Thorp Arch experience in perfect start to managerial role
Leeds United title winner Pablo Hernandez is off to a flying start in his La Liga 2 interim manager gig and admits he's taking direct training ground inspiration from Marcelo Bielsa.
Hernandez began the season in charge of the B team at his boyhood club Castellon, having led them to a fifth-tier Tercera Division championship on the final day of the 2024/25 campaign. But just two games into the current season the 40-year-old was catapulted into the senior role at Castellon following the departure of first team boss Johan Plat. Hernandez jumped two divisions in a single bound to become caretaker boss.
Life in the 'big job' has treated him well so far. When Hernandez took over Castellon sat 20th in Spain's second division having lost three and drawn two of their opening games. They now sit 11th, five points off the top spot, having won all three of Hernandez' games in charge. A pair of 3-1 wins over Cultural Leonesa and Sporting Gijón sandwiched a 1-0 away victory at CD Leganés.
Hernandez, speaking to Cadena SER, has gone on record to praise the lasting impact his Leeds boss Bielsa had on him. During his stint at Elland Road Hernandez often waxed lyrical about the head coach who masterminded an escape from the Championship and a top-10 finish in the Premier League. Bielsa, in turn, would describe the playmaker as a ‘reference’ for Leeds and a player who made those around him play better.
"The person who had the biggest impact on me is Marcelo Bielsa, they were the best years of my career," said Hernandez this week, as translated by Joe Brennan.
"I learned things I hadn’t realised before in my career. He gave us some rubbish bags and told us to clean up the entire training ground. When we finished, we went back to the video room, and he explained why he had made us do it: to make us appreciate all the people who support us and work behind the scenes. The effort they put in to afford a ticket and watch our games. I haven’t done it myself yet, but those are life lessons that make you stop and think."
Where Hernandez has taken a leaf out of Bielsa's book is on the training ground at Castellon, where he's been replicating exercises he first experienced at Thorp Arch.
“They’re drills we do in training, and Bielsa used to tell us they could be perfectly applied to matches on the pitch," said the Spaniard. "They’re drills that, at first glance, make you wonder what they’re for, but then you realise everything has a purpose. They translate perfectly to Sundays [matchdays]."
Hernandez is relishing a fine start to senior management, albeit full in the knowledge that it was granted on a temporary basis. "I joke with my family and friends; I've only been on the bench for a short time and it's going very well, but I know exactly how this works," he said. "So for now, I'll enjoy it."