‘A Massive Occasion’ – Schmeichel’s Pre-PSV Thoughts

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‘A Massive Occasion’ – Schmeichel’s Pre-PSV Thoughts

Leicester City have ambitions to create another special European night for the Club on Thursday, according to Kasper Schmeichel.

2022-04-13T16:05:00.000Z

by Sam Jones

Published

13 Apr, 2022

‘A Massive Occasion’ – Schmeichel’s Pre-PSV Thoughts

Leicester City have ambitions to create another special European night for the Club on Thursday, according to Kasper Schmeichel.

Sam Jones

2022-04-13T16:05:00.000Z

‘A Massive Occasion’ – Schmeichel’s Pre-PSV Thoughts

Leicester City have ambitions to create another special European night for the Club on Thursday, according to Kasper Schmeichel.

Sam Jones

2022-04-13T16:05:00.000Z

‘A Massive Occasion’ – Schmeichel’s Pre-PSV Thoughts

Leicester City have ambitions to create another special European night for the Club on Thursday, according to Kasper Schmeichel.

Sam Jones

2022-04-13T16:05:00.000Z

‘A Massive Occasion’ – Schmeichel’s Pre-PSV Thoughts

Leicester City have ambitions to create another special European night for the Club on Thursday, according to Kasper Schmeichel.

Sam Jones

2022-04-13T16:05:00.000Z

- Leicester City's UEFA Europa Conference League Quarter-Final resumes on Thursday- Kasper Schmeichel spoke to the media before flying to Eindhoven- City's captain assessed the scale of the task ahead in the second leg against PSV- The tie remains level at 0-0 on aggregate after a goalless first tie on Filbert Way

PSV Eindhoven await in the UEFA Europa Conference League Quarter-Final second leg at PSV Stadion on Thursday evening (5:45pm BST kick-off), with the Foxes focused on aiming to reach what would be their first-ever last-four appearance in a continental competition.

Addressing the media during Wednesday morning's pre-match press conference held inside the King Power Centre at LCFC Training Ground, City's captain revealed that he is readying for a challenge akin to the one they faced in France last month.

This time, however, there is little margin for error with the score locked at 0-0 from the first leg in Leicester.

“I expect a tough game, but we’ve been in tough situations before,” the skipper commented. “Just in the last round against Rennes we had a similar situation where there was a lot of noise and a very expectant crowd. We went into a cauldron that was fantastic and we rose to the occasion.

“I expect tomorrow will be no different, it’s going to be another amazing atmosphere. They are second in their league, only a few points behind Ajax, they are a proven team. But for us, the expectations that we set ourselves couldn’t really be higher.

“We’ve got to score, simple as. I think we played well (in the first leg), but we probably need to start a little quicker than we did. Once we got into our stride, we played really well, and it was a very good performance. All that was missing was scoring a couple of goals.”

Evaluating the journey the Club have been on throughout the 35-year-old’s decade-long stint as a Foxes player, the Danish international identifies these European nights as a key pillar in the progress made.

And while success has already been achieved in the form of major trophies, records and other historic triumphs, the desire to accomplish even more is driving Schmeichel and the team on.

He continued: “If you ask any footballer at any club, you want to be competing in European football, at the highest level. These nights are just different. They provide something different for the players, for the fans, new experiences, to be able to play against teams you don’t usually play against. It’s really important for clubs to experience these evenings.

“In my time here, we’ve grown incredibly. Just look where we’re sitting today, in probably the best training ground in the country. We’ve been in European competition, we’ve won trophies, we’re constantly striving, constantly trying to fight on all fronts, that’s where all the fun is.

“To have experiences like this, like winning the Premier League, the FA Cup, the Community Shield - these are moments in history that we are fighting to get a chance to compete for every single day.

“It’s really important we keep progressing and keep that hunger and desire to get better all the time, on every level, not just the football, and that’s what this club is all about. We probably aren’t the biggest, flashiest club around, but we’ve consistently been able to mix it with the big boys and we’ve done a good job of it so far.”

While acknowledging the fixture’s significance, with a European semi-final place up for grabs, Schmeichel’s message is to avoid getting caught up in the magnitude of the tie in order to provide the best opportunity of coming away from Eindhoven with a positive outcome.

The shot-stopper added: “These are the type of games that you want to play in where everything’s on the line and you can end up with big prizes. I think that’s what we all play football for - the big occasions - and tomorrow is a massive occasion.

“But the important thing in any game, but particular these games, is not to play the occasion, play the game. It’s 11 vs. 11 to start with and then we take it from there. I personally don’t really notice the crowd and the external factors when I’m in the game, it’s only really during the warm-up that you feel that.

“Just concentrate, play your game as we’ve done and then the game and the occasion will take care of itself. It’s another day at the office. Every single week there is high pressured situations, and this week is no different.

“Nothing really changes, it is what it is, and the machine just continues. We prepare and approach it the same way we do for any game. We go about our usual routine.”

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