Marcelo Bielsa has his say after Leeds United continually hailed best side in the division

Bristol City boss Lee Johnson got the ball rolling on the opening weekend, citing a difference in quality between his Robins and Whites following their 3-1 reverse at Ashton Gate.

Nottingham Forest boss Sabri Lamouchi then described the Whites as the "best team in the league" following a 1-1 draw at Elland Road and the theme continued.

Leeds will go up said Wigan boss Paul Cook. Former Stoke City manager Nathan Jones then said he'd put his house on Leeds being promoted if he didn't love it so much.

The best team in the division - again - then reasoned Barnsley boss Daniel Stendel.

Even without playing the Whites, Middlesbrough boss and former Leeds favourite Jonathan Woodgate has already declared United are one of the Championship's best.

Showered with compliments and also the bookmakers' favourites to make amends for last season's play-offs heartache in the ultimate style through promotion as champions.

At the beginning of the season, even Whites boss Bielsa felt the Championship was possibly weaker than last year's.

Yet 14 games into the new campaign United's head coach is not so sure with Bielsa describing leaders West Brom as the division's "great team" and also hailing Fulham amongst a fiercely competitive chasing pack.

Ahead of a weekend in which just six points covered the entire top half, Bielsa was asked if this season's Championship was stronger or weaker than last season's and reasoned: "I don’t have a response for that. Fulham is a team with very good performance, but the relationship between performance and results is not similar. They play better than their results.

"West Brom are a great team and after you have a big group of teams. Even if they are not teams with a big impact, the same level as West Brom and Fulham, but it’s a big group of those kinds of teams."

"You ask this because maybe you think the competition is weaker than last season. In the beginning, I thought that as well. In this moment, I would say there are fewer quality teams, but more difficult teams to play against."

Leeds, though, are also proving exactly that with the Whites boasting the best defensive record in the division via only eight goals conceded in their first 14 games.

United's problems have been at the other end with only 17 netted - the joint worst in the top half along with Nottingham Forest who have played one game less.

Comparably, leaders West Brom have slammed in 26, albeit conceding 17, with second-placed Preston North End the division's top scorers with 27.

But United's defence is providing the platform from which to build from though Bielsa says every member of his team has been in some way responsible for the impressive record at the back and not just defensive players Kiko Casilla, Luke Ayling, Liam Cooper, Ben White, Stuart Dallas, Gaetano Berardi, Gjanni Alioski, Barry Douglas and Kalvin Phillips.

"When we defend, we defend with all the players," said Bielsa.

"The offensive players help the defensive players to try to defend better, and after we had a high level individually. That is the real explanation, reason to explain the defensive reality.

"We have also experience to defend. Casilla, Ayling, Cooper, Berardi, Douglas - they are experienced players. Phillips and White are young players who develop rapidly.

"After the contribution of Dallas, he played in a lot of positions, he did well."

Asked in particular about the impact of Brighton loanee White - man of the match in last weekend's goaless draw at Sheffield Wednesday - Bielsa said: "It’s a high performance from him. It’s very difficult to keep this level in a long period and he is achieving this. The analysis is positive."

And so too is the overall outlook from White's defensive partner and skipper Cooper who agreed with Bielsa's assessment of a Championship offering less quality but harder teams to beat.

"I'd definitely say so," said Cooper.

"I think teams are always going to change the way they play against us.