It's safe to say that Marcelo Bielsa has taken Leeds United in the right direction since he was appointed as their manager in the summer of 2018. 

The Yorkshire-based side had been somewhat of a 'sleeping giant' in the Championship prior to his arrival, but the Argentine has certainly made a positive impact with the group of players he has available to him.

He took Leeds to a play-off semi-final in his first season in charge at Elland Road, before they were eventually beaten by Derby County, much to the frustration of the club's supporters after such a strong campaign.

But Leeds seem to have learnt from their mistakes from last season, as they currently sit top of the Championship table and seven points clear of third-placed Fulham with just nine matches remaining.

One player that has played a starring role in their impressive season to date is Kalvin Phillips, with the midfielder making 34 appearances in total for the Whites this term.

Speaking in a Q&A on Forza Football Academy's Instagram account, Phillips issued high-praise for Bielsa's impact with the club, and labelled him as a 'world class manager'.

"I think the manager (Marcelo Bielsa) has come in and obviously he's a world class manager,

"His coaching staff are unbelievable and just the lads that I've got around me, they help me learn everyday. Having players in the team who tell you off and stuff like that - I've got a good four or five people in the team that if I was ever doing anything wrong, they'd let me know."

Phillips went on to admit that he has improved under Bielsa's guidance, and also revealed that he questioned the Argentine's decision in his head to play him as a central defensive midfielder as opposed to a central midfielder.

"I think one of the first things when the manager came in, he said he was going to play me centre defensive mid, and I was like 'hang on a minute, I've scored one of the most goals in the team from midfield', but I was never going to say no. He looks like a manager you don't really want to upset, so I just went with it.

"He was telling me how he wanted me to play and what he wanted me to do, first of all he wanted me to lose weight, he wanted me to learn how to play centre-back as well as centre defensive mid.

"But I think the main thing from my improvements and my progression is the manager and the coaching staff."

Can you score full marks in this Leeds United quiz? 

The Verdict: 

His record speaks for itself.

Leeds were a team that were struggling in their efforts to return to the Premier League, but Bielsa has transformed the club from top to bottom, much to the delight of the Elland Road faithful.

They've been the team to beat for much of this season, and I can't see any other team stopping them from making a long overdue return to the top-flight.

Phillips has only got even better under Bielsa's management, and you have to feel as though the midfielder is more than capable of making the step up to the Premier League next season.