Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa has emphasised that squad depth will be important to their success in the Championship this season.

The Whites are unbeaten in the 2018/19 campaign and sit third in the Championship table, after one win and one draw.

They eased into the second round of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, beating League Two Salford City 3-0 away at Moor Lane.

The Argentine coach gave a number of players their first start of the season in the cup tie, with a number of them impressing, including summer signing Eddie Nketiah.

On Saturday, they travel to the North West again to face Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium for their third game of the Championship season.

Speaking to Leeds Live in a press conference prior to the game, Bielsa was pressed on whether the strong performances against Salford made his team selection for Saturday more difficult.

He said: “We cannot play all the league with 11 players. We always are going to need one or more in each position.

“That’s why we try to control every time. When you need changes for injuries or cards or form, allows us to find a player at a good level.”

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The Verdict

It is positive to see that the importance of squad depth is not lost on Bielsa and he has already benefited from it, with Stuart Dallas starting this season at right-back due to the injury of Luke Ayling.

Leeds' late season stumble, which saw them miss out on promotion, could be attributed to the squad tiring due to Bielsa’s intense style of play, so increased squad rotation could be key to avoiding that issue in this campaign.

His comments should be a real boost for some of the young players at the club, as it hints that the likes of Jamie Shackleton and Jack Clarke are likely to play an important role again.