Jesse Marsch has admitted his comments on Leeds being "over-trained" under Marcelo Bielsa were "careless".
Bielsa's three-and-a-half-year reign in charge at Elland Road came to an end in February as he was sacked following a 4-0 defeat against Tottenham, with former RB Leipzig boss Marsch swiftly drafted in as his replacement.
The American coach has steered Leeds away from the relegation zone, and previously suggested that the squad was being mismanaged before his arrival.
What did Marsch say about Bielsa?
Leeds finished ninth in the Premier League last season but were unable to maintain that form in the first half of the current campaign as a number of key players suffered serious injuries.
Marsch appeared to claim Bielsa was at fault during an interview earlier this month, as he said of the team's struggles: "I could see from just watching games from afar, and talking to people within the club, that the stress levels were incredibly high.
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"The injury issue, for me, had a lot to do with the training methodology. These players were over-trained and it led to them being physically, mentally, emotionally and psychologically in a difficult place to recover from week to week, game to game."
Marsch clarifies his comments
Marsch has now come out to clarify his remarks, insisting he never intended to aim a dig at Bielsa.
"Listen, I want to say this was not intentional to attack Marcelo in any way," the Leeds boss said ahead of his side's next Premier League outing against Crystal Palace. "It was a little bit careless.
"I can see how it was interpreted in some ways that way, but it was more about the state of the player pool, and what I had observed.
"I think you'd be hard-pressed to find any incoming coach that has spoken more positively about the person that he replaced than the way that I've spoken about Marcelo. It's because I have major respect for him."