Shakespeare: We’ve A Desire To Win

- Craig Shakespeare says Leicester City have a great desire to beat Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday 
- The Foxes host Mauricio Pochettino’s men at King Power Stadium in the Premier League (7:45pm kick-off) 
- Shakespeare was impressed with his side’s second-half performance during the defeat to Manchester City last time out 

Leicester City’s full focus lies on beating Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday evening at King Power Stadium, says Craig Shakespeare. 

The Foxes play their final two games of the 2016/17 Premier League campaign in the space of four days, first, before a clash with AFC Bournemouth on Sunday. 

The aim since securing their Premier League status has been to finish as high as possible in the table and, with eighth place still very much achievable, Shakespeare says his side will not let up in their pursuit of a top-half spot. 

Assessing Tottenham’s threats, Shakespeare said: “Offensively, they’re similar to Man City. Having worked with Harry [Kane] and Dele Alli, I know the quality that they’ve got. I think as a team, they’ve progressed. 

“They’re very good both with and without the ball. They’ve finished second in the league and they’ve ran Chelsea full tilt for title.

“But we also know our threats and we have to be aware of what we’re about. We have a great record at King Power Stadium. 

“People say we’re safe but I know Spurs can’t finish any higher or lower than second. When you come up against a team of Tottenham’s quality and with our desire to win, it should be an interesting game. 

“It has been tight down there for while now and we realise that. Three points on Thursday could put us eighth but with the two games we could finish 16th. We’re aware of that but first of all we go into Spurs and the total focus is on that.” 

With both Wes Morgan and Robert Huth unavailable due to injury, Shakespeare could again call upon the services of, who operated at centre back against Manchester City on Saturday. 

Reflecting on the Austrian’s performance, Shakespeare said: “I thought he did very well. I thought him playing there, the idea was to use his experience. He gave us balance as a left-sider. 

“As a team, in the first 30 minutes, we struggled to get hold of Man City and we have to give them credit for the way they played. The timing of their movement was excellent. I thought Christian grew into the game as we did as a team.”