Matchday With The Manager – Our Biggest Test Yet

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Matchday With The Manager – Our Biggest Test Yet

Brendan Rodgers pointed to an increased level of concentration as a key factor in Leicester City’s recent upturn in form.

2022-10-29T06:05:00.000Z

by Sam Jones

Published

29 Oct, 2022

Matchday With The Manager – Our Biggest Test Yet

Brendan Rodgers pointed to an increased level of concentration as a key factor in Leicester City’s recent upturn in form.

Sam Jones

2022-10-29T06:05:00.000Z

Matchday With The Manager – Our Biggest Test Yet

Brendan Rodgers pointed to an increased level of concentration as a key factor in Leicester City’s recent upturn in form.

Sam Jones

2022-10-29T06:05:00.000Z

Matchday With The Manager – Our Biggest Test Yet

Brendan Rodgers pointed to an increased level of concentration as a key factor in Leicester City’s recent upturn in form.

Sam Jones

2022-10-29T06:05:00.000Z

Matchday With The Manager – Our Biggest Test Yet

Brendan Rodgers pointed to an increased level of concentration as a key factor in Leicester City’s recent upturn in form.

Sam Jones

2022-10-29T06:05:00.000Z

Collecting 10 points from a possible 15 so far this month has elevated the Foxes above the Premier League’s relegation zone - a position they occupied in the opening weeks of the season - ahead of tackling champions Manchester City in Saturday’s early kick-off at King Power Stadium (12:30pm kick-off).

Speaking to the media in his pre-match press conference, held inside the King Power Centre at LCFC Training Ground, City’s manager reflected on the past few games and how the picture has changed heading into the clash against the Citizens…

Confidence growing

Leicester triumphed at Wolverhampton Wanderers last Sunday, winning 4-0 just three days after a 2-0 success over Leeds United and claiming back-to-back victories for the first time this season.

“Winning is obviously important and that breeds the confidence of course,” the 49-year-old stated on Thursday afternoon. “But for me it’s always been about the process. For us, we’d played well in a number of games but we’ve just had errors within that.

“There’s a different feel to the team when you’re winning. Within this last period of time, just our concentration has been better and then we add that to some of the play that we’ve had, so I think the last game typified that. We scored two fantastic goals in the first half, defended strong when we had to too.

"In the second half, we drew up our lines a little bit to be more compact and tighter, which gave Wolves more of the ball but we still carried a threat. We scored two further goals, but the spirit has always been good and we want to continue with that."

Adding clean sheets

An improvement in defensive stability has seen Leicester maintain four shutouts in their last five league fixtures and the manager paid tribute to Danny Ward’s contribution to that stat after a tough opening to the campaign.

On the Wales international shot-stopper, he said: “It’s been a difficult start for him, naturally, because of the team not playing or defending to the level that we’d want. Of course, whenever you keep clean sheets, the goalkeeper plays a very important part in that.

“It’s just taken Danny that little bit of time to settle into the No.1 jersey. Now he looks really at home, both in the training and in the games. He made a couple of really important saves for us. I’ve always said he will grow into the shirt and I’m delighted for him, but we’ve got to keep that consistency now. That’s the mark of being a top goalkeeper.

“If you look at our record, in terms of goals, we’re fine with that. We feel we can always create. There’s elements to our game where we can be better in the final third, in terms of retaining the ball, because we lose it too often, which means we can’t sustain attacks. But whenever we’re up there and play with that quality, we’re sure we can score goals.

“Defensively is going to be the test for us and it was going to be off the back of the start we had. We’re collectively super-focused on that side of our game. For the game at the weekend, we have to be good in all forms of our game to get a result.”

Man City’s qualities

The Northern Irishman is under no illusions at the size of the challenge awaiting his side on Saturday, particularly given Manchester City’s attacking threats.

A win for the Citizens would, temporarily at least, see them climb to the Premier League’s summit. Pep Guardiola’s side have scored more goals than any other side in the division in 2022/23 (36) – 11 more than current leaders Arsenal.

“It’s a team that have got incredible quality,” Rodgers admitted. “It’s the best possession team in world football. You know, defensively, you’re going to have to work. I watched the game in midweek against [Borussia] Dortmund and I’m a massive admirer of Pep [Guardiola] and his work.

“We understand the challenges within the game, but we also prepare for the moments where we can be a threat as well and that’s always important. You’ve got to defend well and you’ve got to defend aggressively.

“You’ve got to close up certain spaces in the field. You’ve got to have that little bit of luck along the way, but we know that we can score goals, so that will be important for us in our mindset.

James Maddison’s form

James Maddison continues to produce impressive numbers, providing six goals and two assists in his 10 Premier League appearances this term, adding another to his collection in the win at Wolves.

Rodgers was full of praise for the 25-year-old, commenting: “He's been a real talented player, but I think he’s playing with a maturity now and a better responsibility of his overall game. I think everyone can see the attacking talent he’s got and that’s demonstrated in his numbers of what he creates and what he scored.

“James’ development has also been about the defensive side of the game. Even the talented players have to participate in that side. His pressing and his aggression and his blocking spaces is much better now. He’s really grown and he is developing into an all-round, fantastic player.”

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