Matchday With The Manager – Grasping The Opportunity

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Matchday With The Manager – Grasping The Opportunity

Leicester City go into Thursday's European duel with PSV Eindhoven with a feeling of excitement and optimism, says manager Brendan Rodgers.

2022-04-14T06:00:00.000Z

Matchday With The Manager – Grasping The Opportunity

Leicester City go into Thursday's European duel with PSV Eindhoven with a feeling of excitement and optimism, says manager Brendan Rodgers.

2022-04-14T06:00:00.000Z

Matchday With The Manager – Grasping The Opportunity

Leicester City go into Thursday's European duel with PSV Eindhoven with a feeling of excitement and optimism, says manager Brendan Rodgers.

2022-04-14T06:00:00.000Z

Matchday With The Manager – Grasping The Opportunity

Leicester City go into Thursday's European duel with PSV Eindhoven with a feeling of excitement and optimism, says manager Brendan Rodgers.

2022-04-14T06:00:00.000Z

Matchday With The Manager – Grasping The Opportunity

Leicester City go into Thursday's European duel with PSV Eindhoven with a feeling of excitement and optimism, says manager Brendan Rodgers.

2022-04-14T06:00:00.000Z

The winners of that second leg tie in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa Conference League, currently locked at 0-0 on aggregate, will face either Roma or Bodø/Glimt in the last-four. Leicester, however, have never reached the semi-finals stage of any European competition.

By contrast, PSV are former winners of the European Cup and UEFA Cup, and are regular competitors on the continental stage. They're a tall hurdle for City to leap in their pursuit of European glory, but Rodgers insists that his players are determined to stand up to the challenge in Eindhoven this week.

"It’s a great opportunity for us," the former Liverpool and Celtic manager told the media in Seagrave on Wednesday. "I never tend to do look at any game more or less, in terms of whether they’re big or not. For me, every game is a big game, every game is an opportunity to prove yourself.

"Of course, the consequence of this game is that you’ll be able to go to a European semi-final. It’s not a final yet, but it’s a very, very important game. It’s a game we’re excited about and want to go on and put on a performance for our supporters and for ourselves.

"We need to take our opportunities, I think that’s key. I think there’ll be more space for us in the game. PSV played deeper than what they would normally play [in the first leg]. At home, they’ve shown in games that they will look to go and attack and that will be, in sure, the ethos of what the supporters will want.

"That is also good for us because it gives us more space than what we had in the first leg. With that space, we know we can create problems for them, so it’s just about playing our game, keeping our composure, keeping the speed in our game and staying calm. We know we have players who can score goals.

"If you watched the Real Madrid vs. Chelsea game last night, you can see the experience in that game. It’s very, very important. That calmness, that reassurance that young players get from seeing our experienced players… of course the young players also play with no fear as well.

"You always need balance in your team and we’ve got a really good mix of that."

Rodgers believes Leicester's experience of facing big teams in the Premier League can help them at PSV Stadion on Thursday. The Club's preparations have been carefully planned to give the players the best possible chance to give the Blue Army something to celebrate at full-time.

"We’ll go with a real positive mentality," the 49-year-old added. "We’ll go and play our game. Obviously, away from home in a second leg, it’s all to play for. For us, it’s really important to go and be aggressive and keep up this strong mentality that we have at the moment. We go there with no fear.

"We’re used to playing in big games in our domestic league. We’ll go away and we’re really looking forward to it. To be the first to do anything is always nice. We had that feeling with the FA Cup. It is a great feeling.

"PSV, I’ve heard, have qualified for 48 European competitions on the trot, which shows you the history they’ve got. For us, we’re completely the opposite to that. We’re very unexperienced, but you only get that by achieving. This is a great opportunity for us to do that. We are ready to grasp it.

"The first leg gives us great motivation that we can do that. We’ll fight and do everything we possibly can do to get to the semi-finals. We’re not there on holiday, we’re there to do a job. That culture’s been created. That’s always about good people. We train here today and fly out later.

"We’ll arrive and have a nice meal in the hotel and then the game day is relaxed but focused on the game. Afterwards, you’re then preparing for your next game. Thankfully, we have a group of players who enjoy being with each other.

"There’s a real great mix in the squad in terms of experience, top-class professionals, with young guys that are still learning their trade and play their part always. That connection is there."

PSV are currently four points behind Ajax at the summit of Dutch football's top tier and they also play their Amsterdam opponents in the KNVB Cup on Sunday. Rodgers, though, doesn't believe that tightly condensed fixture schedule for City's hosts will have an impact on Thursday's tie.

"For any football coach, manager or team, it’s always about the next game," he explained. "You cannot worry so much about what you’ll do in that game. Primarily, you want to win your next one, so I don’t think it’ll have any impact at all. We’ll have a meeting this morning and talk through some of the scenarios in the game.

"Ultimately, it’s about playing your game and you’ve got to keep your composure, play with that calmness and that emotion at the same time – intensity and aggression. For us, it’s about keeping that composure and patience will be important."

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