WATCH - Jesse Marsch makes request of Leeds United fans and reveals matchday preparation routine

United's pre-season tour of Australia got off to a strong start on Thursday as goals by Dan James and Joe Gelhardt sealed a 2-1 victory against Brisbane Roar.

On Sunday, Leeds face the second of their three-game schedule down under, taking on Premier League rivals Aston Villa in a Queensland Champions Cup tie.

Fans turned out in their droves to catch a glimpse of their favourite players as the Whites hosted an open training session at the Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday.

Before Marsch put his team through their paces, the American spoke on a microphone to recognise the dedication of local fans and explain a bit about his side's pre-match processes.

"There's a lot of people that stay up until two in the morning to watch our matches," Marsch said. "So, we're really excited to be here.

"Typically the day before the match, we try to have high energy, we try to have the guys enjoy the match or enjoy the day before, so that they're ready for the game tomorrow.

"We have to talk to them specifically about what the match plan will be for tomorrow. We'll go through that a little bit more tomorrow in the morning, and see if they can put it to practice without really going over things on the pitch.

"A lot of days when we're at home, we'll do a little bit of a 11v11 on the pitch to go over what we expect from the opponent and what we want to look like on the day.

"We'll maybe go over a few set plays, and try to sure that we're clear for that but the guys have been putting in a lot of work."

Marsch is pleased with United's display against Roar on Thursday - but it was not the complete performance.

On the eve of the Whites' Villa clash, the head coach had a request for the fans in the stands at the Suncorp Stadium.

"The match on Thursday was a good match, but one that we thought that we still can improve on," he said, "so, obviously we expect more from Villa tomorrow.

"We expect a really good match, and I think we'll be ready to have a really top performance.

"So we expect you guys to come here tomorrow with all our passion.

"It was awesome in the Gold Coast, where we were hearing Marching on Together before the match and during the match.

"So, bring it all tomorrow, okay? Show the Villa fans what these fans are all about."