Former Leeds United boss Paul Heckingbottom hopes Marco Bielsa ‘gets the backing he needs to be successful’ at Elland Road.

Having overseen just four wins in his 16 games in charge, which included seven defeats, the 40-year-old was sacked from his post on June 1, barely four months after being appointed.

Leeds have since appointed the former Argentina and Athletic Bilbao boss Marco Bielsa.

With a wealth of experience, comes great expectations for a club who already hold themselves in high regard and feel they should be fighting it out amongst the elite.

Leeds wanted to appoint a manager with 'more experience' after the dismissal of Heckingbottom.

On the eve of the new season, the Whites have what they wanted and have recently transformed their summer transfer window haul after a slow start.

The former Elland Road boss hopes Bielsa gets the backing he needs for the club to push on.

And admitted he wasn’t surprised at his appointment, but felt he could have still been the man to start the new season.

“I wasn’t really surprised [with the appointment],” he said. "I have an open relationship with Andrea [Radrizzani] there, I know it would be someone with experience and someone with a big name. 

“It doesn’t make me feel any better, to be honest, I knew though. 

“I hope he gets the backing that he needs to be successful, everyone wants them to do well, but it does need backing.”

Calmness is needed for a club that reacts when a winless run starts to manifest.

All too often in recent years, Leeds have been quick to pull the trigger on managers when their results go south.

And Heckingbottom is pleading for the hierarchy at Elland Road to have patience if they want positive results.

“You can't keep chopping and changing,” the 40-year-old explained. “The fans can't accept a club chopping and changing. Otherwise you become a part of the problem. 

“Teams that outperform the others are the ones, who have the best plans are stubborn and [are] strong in their belief to make it happen, rather than bending and wavering to fans pressure and results.

“If they have a plan and they know how they want to implement, it will happen.”

Heckingbottom feels that the new man will have nothing to worry about at Elland Road in having to deal with the trials and tribulations that are standard practice in England’s second tier. 

“He has more experience than me,” he explained. “There are things I can tell him about the place that might help him.

“But he’s been at that many clubs and worked with that many plays and experienced that many things he would have seen most things before.”

Bielsa is a world renounced coach with unmeasurable experience in world football.

The reaction to the rumours that the 63-year-old would take over at Leeds was off the charts with disbelief and excitement abound.

His appointment at Leeds was welcomed with shock that a manager of that calibre would seek a job in the Championship.

And Paul Heckingbottom has talked up the Championship’s appeal of would-be second-tier managers ahead of the new campaign kicking off this weekend.

In terms of attendances the Championship is the fourth or fifth biggest in the world,” the former Barnsley boss discussed.

“The revenue is going up an up, not only have you got is it the fourth or fifth biggest league in the world but you have somewhere else to go from the Championship.

“Other leagues you have the top three or four that compete, and there is nowhere to go.”

He added: “Whereas if you're in the Championship you can get to the holy grail of the Premier League and that’s the attraction to the owners, managers and players.

“That is part of the problem, however, when we talk about the young players.

It is that big of an industry and that big of a pot that if you see that people do what they can to get there.”