With Jesse Marsch's Leeds United currently staring down the barrel of relegation from the Premier League, whether or not the 48-year-old manager remains at the club in the event of the Whites dropping down to the second tier appears very much up for debate.

Indeed, this question was posed to the American in a recent press conference, with the former RB Leipzig head coach appearing to suggest that he was not brought into the club by Victor Orta to simply oversee the remaining fixtures of the season, but rather to build a project at Elland Road.

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Regarding his future in LS11 beyond the end of the current campaign, Marsch said: "I am so focused on what we are doing right here, right now. My vision was not 12 games. It's over years. The first step is staying in the Premier League. The club deserves it and the club has earned it. But we have to earn it in the moment right now."

However, despite the 48-year-old's rather optimistic outlook, the fact remains that, should Leeds find themselves playing Championship football next season - an outcome which, following the 3-0 defeat to Chelsea on Wednesday, is now a 65% probability - he will have failed in what will undoubtedly the primary objective given to him by Orta and Andrea Radrizzani back in March.

In a recent article for The Athletic, Phil Hay suggested that securing survival for the Whites is the only real way the American can back up his positive outlook concerning his future, with the journalist writing:

"He is nine games in and you cannot tell at this stage if you are seeing all of the coach or the man, which creates confusion over whether to be convinced or perplexed by some of what he is saying. Gandhi won't get Leeds United out of trouble and neither will Mother Theresa. Marsch, on the other hand, can. It is an essential first step in proving he can walk the walk."

Indeed, despite Leeds' brief upturn in form following Marsch's arrival at the club, results in recent weeks, as well as individual player performances - have been well below par, rendering Sunday's meeting with Brighton & Hove Albion a must-win game if the Whites are to remain a Premier League side heading into 2022/23.

However, aside from deciding the club's immediate future, the visit of the Seagulls could also determine whether or not Marsch will fulfil his prophecy of spending a number of years at Elland Road - as a defeat against Graham Potter's outfit will force both Orta and Radrizzani into making a decision as to whether the 48-year-old is the man who they want to lead the Whites into a campaign in the second-tier of English football.

And, in the event of relegation, while it is true that a number of the current playing staff - including the likes of Rodrigo and Mateusz Klich - should be moved on this summer, we at Football FanCast also believe it would be wise to axe the £80k-per-week American, as the 48-year-old once again appears to be "out of his depth."

AND in other news: Forget James: "Completely anonymous" dud should've just played his last game for Leeds