Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch has joked about his reasons for hiring Chris Armas.

The former Manchester United coach is now working at Leeds, with his countryman Marsch bringing him in this winter.

While the two have previous experience working together within the Red Bull organization, Marsch joked that Armas taking over the “Ted Lasso" nickname from him was a reason for the hiring.

“First it'll take away the Ted Lasso moniker from me so much and give it to him," he said.

“That might be better.

“We know each other. Even Frankie Schiemer and I, we worked together in the past, it was two years.

“Chris and I have known each other a long time. We've won championships together. We've had hard losses together. We've played for the national team together. We've worked together as coaches.

“There's been a very close tie in both of our careers and the experiences we've had. My respect level for him, as a player, as a teammate, was higher than probably any other teammate I've ever had in my entire career.

“He was my captain when I was at the Chicago Fire, but more so I felt like he was my partner in the midfield as we were the two defensive midfielders that helped that club be so successful in the timeframe we were together. Then what we built in New York together was also really special.

“Even when he got the experience in Man Utd, I was excited for him. I knew he would do well and I knew it would, in some ways, qualify him to be with me at some point in this adventure I'm on in Europe.

“Once everything came about in the summer it would have been a perfect fit, but just personally, in his life, [it] wasn't the right time. Now is the right time and he'll, in every way, help us communicate effectively with the team and invest with the team in ways to make them better."