Matchday With The Manager – Regaining Consistency & European Ambitions

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Matchday With The Manager – Regaining Consistency & European Ambitions

Progress in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday can aid the building of consistency in Leicester City’s campaign, says Brendan Rodgers.

2022-02-24T07:00:00.000Z

by Sam Jones

Published

24 Feb, 2022

Matchday With The Manager – Regaining Consistency & European Ambitions

Progress in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday can aid the building of consistency in Leicester City’s campaign, says Brendan Rodgers.

Sam Jones

2022-02-24T07:00:00.000Z

Matchday With The Manager – Regaining Consistency & European Ambitions

Progress in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday can aid the building of consistency in Leicester City’s campaign, says Brendan Rodgers.

Sam Jones

2022-02-24T07:00:00.000Z

Matchday With The Manager – Regaining Consistency & European Ambitions

Progress in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday can aid the building of consistency in Leicester City’s campaign, says Brendan Rodgers.

Sam Jones

2022-02-24T07:00:00.000Z

Matchday With The Manager – Regaining Consistency & European Ambitions

Progress in the UEFA Europa Conference League on Thursday can aid the building of consistency in Leicester City’s campaign, says Brendan Rodgers.

Sam Jones

2022-02-24T07:00:00.000Z

The return leg of the knockout round play-off takes City to Scandinavia and a second meeting with Randers at Randers Stadium (5:45pm GMT kick-off), the next step on their 2021/22 European journey.

Rodgers’ pre-match press conference, which was held in the King Power Centre at LCFC Training Ground, took place ahead of open training on Wednesday morning, prior to the team flying out to Denmark for the tie.

While speaking to the press, City’s manager assessed the team’s current form and explained why he has seen promising signs from the performances produced in recent fixtures, albeit not always being rewarded with the results to match.

He also referenced the importance of this tournament in providing a chance to compete for silverware, though there is stern competition awaiting should the Foxes progress.

“For us, this is a tournament that, when you’re in it, you want to go all the way and win it, so that’s our idea,” he told the assembled media from the Club’s base in Seagrave. “We've just got to get through this game, into the last-16 and work our way through the rounds.

“Looking at the teams that are in there, every coach and manager that is in the competition will now say that they are in it to win it. There are some very good teams in it, so we have to concentrate on ourselves really and get the job done.

“Over these last few weeks and games, especially against Wolves and West Ham, seeing our performance level in those games has been really pleasing. I think we’re on our way back to a level now that we’ve been accustomed to over the last few years.

“We’ve still got young players who are developing here, and some experienced pros. We’ve won the FA Cup and the Community Shield in my time here and, for me, the overall vision is to continue to compete and try and disrupt the top teams in this country.

“That’s always been my goal coming here, playing a brand of football that the supporters enjoy watching and get excited about. And obviously the continuation of the development of our Academy and young players from the Academy base.

“This year has, of course, been a challenge for a number of reasons. Logically, when you look at it, when you’re missing players that will affect performance, we don’t have the depth of quality of other teams.

“We have to still be open to criticism if we don’t get the results, but during my time here, the players have been great, we’ve achieved something and we’re very hungry to continue with that. I’ve enjoyed every minute and we need to keep writing chapters here at the Football Club.

“You want to progress and have that ambition as a club. That’s what you want to be achieving. We don’t take that for granted. Over the last few seasons, we’ve had to work so hard to consistently get results, but of course, it’s where you want to be (in Europe).

“I said when I arrived, [we want] to become a team that regularly plays European football. That increases your experiences as players and, of course, as a club, it puts you on the map as a European club. That’s clearly an objective of ours and we will fight and do everything we can to achieve that this season.”

Analysing the first leg, which saw goals from Wilfred Ndidi, Harvey Barnes, Patson Daka and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall seal a 4-1 success for the Foxes on Filbert Way, the 49-year-old was content with the level of performance on show but warned of the qualities their hosts possess as they try to overturn a sizeable deficit.

He explained: “I thought the team collectively was very good, with good concentration. We played well on the night, which is what we set out to do, and we were able to use our game and our qualities well.

“How Randers play, with the wingers coming on the inside with bodies dropping in, we have to make sure that our spaces are closed. And we have to be concentrated. For us, it’s about playing our game and our football with that aggression and tempo in the game and looking to create lots of chances.

“I think it will maybe be a more physical game, so we’ll have to be ready for that. But that’s what we get every week in the Premier League. They will want to be competitive and show that they can challenge us, so we have to be ready for that.

“They have some good players if we let them play, so we have to be really hungry and forget about the scoreline and go there and be very competitive physically. Our mentality and that focus has to be right and our objective is that we want to go and win the game and get into the last-16.”

With no weekend fixture to contest, Leicester will have the luxury of four days’ rest and subsequent preparation for the Premier League trip to Burnley on Tuesday evening. Recovery time has been limited in recent weeks, however, leading to a shift in the groundworks undertaken prior to games.

The attitude and mindset remain constant, however, something which Rodgers believes is key to getting back on track this season.

“I’ve always been performance-related, knowing that it is that which consequently leads to positive results,” the Northern Irishman added. “Performance-wise, the mentality in training is very good.

“Obviously we’re playing a lot of games, so there’s very little full group training because one group are playing and recovering and the guys that haven’t played are training, but we’re seeing a spirit and a mentality.

“I think when you play well and you don’t get the result, it’s a lot easier to take because you can analyse and look and see small areas for improvement. That was our concentration, getting to our level of football and getting that fluidity back in the team, and real good tactical organisation in the team.

“You can see the benefits of that. Day-to-day, they are always really good lads, they want to work and that’s never an issue. The quality is undoubted, the players have got great qualities, but collectively and individually, we needed to have a look at ourselves and the response from that has been very good.

“We need to continue on that path. If we align with some of our players coming back, then we can have a really exciting finish to the season.”

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