The Swede will face his old club in the top-flight next season
Pontus Jansson has paid tribute to Marcelo Bielsa after Brentford’s Championship Play-Off victory over Swansea CityStrikethrough and says he borrowed many of the Leeds United’s managers ideas.
The Bees ended their 74-year wait to play in the top flight with a 2-0 victory at Wembley on Saturday; Ivan Toney opened the scoring from the penalty spot before Emiliano Marcondes doubled the lead.
Swansea never really threatened a fight back and the game was effectively put to bed when Jay Fulton was shown a straight red card, with Brentford holding on to secure a place in the Premier League.
Brentford lost to Fulham in last year’s Play-Off final but gave an excellent display this time around (Picture: Getty)
Bees skipper Jansson left Leeds in 2019, just before they won promotion to the top flight, but he is delighted to have finally made it to the Premier League and revealed that he passed on some of Bielsa’s methods to Brentford.
Asked if Brentford’s promotion has justified his move away from Leeds, Jansson told Sky Sports: ‘That’s probably what has made me most proud. I saw something in Brentford.
‘And I’m so thankful to Bielsa and what he gave me at Leeds – he gave me so much knowledge that I actually brought in here to Brentford.
And Brentford were so willing to listen to me and with my ideas – that I took from Bielsa!
‘So I thank him a lot, because for me he is one of the best coaches in the world. And people think that me and his relationship is not the best, but it is. He’s very good.
‘I am so thankful to him. And of course I love Brentford so much, but also say thanks to Bielsa and to Leeds.’
Earning promotion is believed to be worth around £178million (Picture: Getty)
On what it means to win the Play-Off and finally earn promotion – and an estimated £178million for the club – Jansson added: ‘It’s unbelievable, I’m so proud. It’s been a hard year but we’re finally there.
‘This year we had a very strong group and we believed in it from day one. A lot of Leeds fans have been behind me and all of Brentford this season.