Matchday With The Manager – Preparing To Climb The Mountain Again

Leicester City's appearance in the FA Community Shield this weekend is a marker of the Football Club's progress, but the Foxes are looking for more success in the near future, says manager Brendan Rodgers.

2021-08-07T06:36:34.367Z

Leicester City's appearance in the FA Community Shield this weekend is a marker of the Football Club's progress, but the Foxes are looking for more success in the near future, says manager Brendan Rodgers.

2021-08-07T06:36:34.367Z

Matchday With The Manager – Preparing To Climb The Mountain Again

Leicester City's appearance in the FA Community Shield this weekend is a marker of the Football Club's progress, but the Foxes are looking for more success in the near future, says manager Brendan Rodgers.

2021-08-07T06:36:34.367Z

Matchday With The Manager – Preparing To Climb The Mountain Again

Leicester City's appearance in the FA Community Shield this weekend is a marker of the Football Club's progress, but the Foxes are looking for more success in the near future, says manager Brendan Rodgers.

2021-08-07T06:36:34.367Z

Matchday With The Manager – Preparing To Climb The Mountain Again

Leicester City's appearance in the FA Community Shield this weekend is a marker of the Football Club's progress, but the Foxes are looking for more success in the near future, says manager Brendan Rodgers.

2021-08-07T06:36:34.367Z

Manchester City are the opponents in front of a large crowd at Wembley Stadium on Saturday in the 2021/22 curtain-raiser between Pep Guardiola's Premier League champions and the Emirates FA Cup holders – after Rodgers guided Leicester to their first success in that competition last term.

Also securing European qualification for two seasons in succession, the Northern Irishman is eager to continue challenging for places in the league and for major honours. While wary of the challenges his side will be confronted with over the coming campaign, his ambition remains untempered.

"It’s a fantastic game for us," Rodgers told the national media during his first press conference of the new campaign at LCFC Training Ground in Seagrave. "We’re glad we’re there. It means we’ve won the FA Cup and we’re playing against a very, very good side.

"When you start pre-season, your main goal is to be as close to fitness for your first game of the season, so that doesn’t really change, but it’s a wonderful occasion… a full house at Wembley with the chance to hold something at the end of it.

"It’s important, obviously, to play every game to win and we’re going to Wembley in front of 90,000 people, so it’s certainly something we’d like to do. It should be a great occasion against a fantastic team and both teams will be searching for fitness in that last game before the season begins for real.

"Pre-season’s all about getting towards that first game, building your fitness up and physically and mentally getting ready and prepared. To be able to play in this game a week before is obviously a really, really great occasion.

"Any time you play at Wembley with something to play for, it means your team have done well. It’s the final game before the first game of the season so we’re really excited and looking forward to it. It’s what the game’s about and if you can succeed and arrive at Wembley, it shows your team is doing well.

"I’d like to think, over the last two-and-a-half years, the team has progressed in terms of the mentality and outlook on competition. My job was always, I felt, to build this base camp around the top end of this league.

"It’s always going to be extremely difficult for us to, over the season, outgun some of these guys on a consistent basis, but if we can build that and be an established club, while being super competitive in these games, and then go for trophies like we did last year, then that will show the Club is succeeding.

"[Being in the Community Shield is] a great testament to the players and that shift in mentality, that consistency. When every season starts, you’ve got to prove you can climb the mountain again and you’ve got to go and prove yourselves. That’s something we aim to do again this season."

That mindset has been an integral pillar for Rodgers during his tenure in charge of the Foxes. From day-to-day sessions on the training pitches to matches against some of the most admired teams in the world, the 48-year-old calls for an ambitious mentality from his players.

Although the Community Shield is played in pre-season, Rodgers says Leicester will approach the tie as they do any other – with an intent to win.

"I’ve always tried to create the mindset that whether it’s a friendly or a competitive game as such, we want to win every game we play," he explained.

"You can’t do that, of course, but every game we play has to mean something. Of course, physically, [fitness is] the main aim of the game, but there’s no doubt that you want to play well and, when you can, put your hands on the trophy at the end of it. Of course, you want to be able to do that.

"There’s excitement around it. You can either look at it two ways. You could think you could never compete, or you try and create a culture and an environment around being competitive. We know the levels in terms of resources in the Premier League, but it doesn’t stop us competing.

"Manchester City are a wonderful club with an incredible group of players. They’re the reigning champions and they’ve got an absolutely outstanding coach who oversees that. That’s the challenge for every team. There’s teams that will be up there with them, in terms of the budget, and then there’s teams like ourselves that are fighting to keep proving the point.

"That’s the challenge for a club like Leicester. We’re very realistic with where we’re at, but we’ve always tried to be competitive in the big games and finish as high as we can. I certainly don’t envy it. It’s a wonderful club, Man City, with a great squad of players that have been built to win things.

"The challenge for teams like ourselves, with lesser resources, is to compete against that. Like all the clubs chasing the top teams in this division, we have to fight, we have to continue to climb the mountain. We did it last season, we won the FA Cup and finished in Europe.

"It's the same aim for us this year, there’s no change. Can we arrive into a European position and can we challenge for trophies? That is our focus."

City have recruited three new faces so far this summer – RB Salzburg's goal-hungry Zambia international Patson Daka, Lille's title-winning central midfielder Boubakary Soumaré and Premier League stalwart Ryan Bertrand. While some may need time to settle, Rodgers is confident all can contribute this term.

"For any player coming into the Premier League, it’s always a challenge, especially in the first season," he said. "The three players we’ve bought in all have that winning mentality. Ryan’s obviously the most experienced player. He’ll prove to be an outstanding signing for us. I’ve known him a long time.

"I’ve seen him grow from a young guy at 16 years of age to what he is now, which is an experienced, Premier League operator. He’s won the Champions League. He comes in and offers us great experience and quality in our group. The two young guys, Patson and Bouba, are off the back of winning titles.

"They have the winning mentality and they have a lot of scope to develop. With those two in particular, there will be adaption this year, but from what I’ve seen in their profiles, they’ll fit in very, very well. I’m sure they’re going to make a big contribution over the course of the season for us."

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