Matchday With The Manager – Winning After Winning

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Matchday With The Manager – Winning After Winning

Brendan Rodgers hopes Monday's derby-day victory over Nottingham Forest can be a 'season-changing' moment for Leicester City.

2022-10-08T07:36:13.721Z

by Sam Stevens

Published

08 Oct, 2022

Matchday With The Manager – Winning After Winning

Brendan Rodgers hopes Monday's derby-day victory over Nottingham Forest can be a 'season-changing' moment for Leicester City.

Sam Stevens

2022-10-08T07:36:13.721Z

Matchday With The Manager – Winning After Winning

Brendan Rodgers hopes Monday's derby-day victory over Nottingham Forest can be a 'season-changing' moment for Leicester City.

Sam Stevens

2022-10-08T07:36:13.721Z

Matchday With The Manager – Winning After Winning

Brendan Rodgers hopes Monday's derby-day victory over Nottingham Forest can be a 'season-changing' moment for Leicester City.

Sam Stevens

2022-10-08T07:36:13.721Z

Matchday With The Manager – Winning After Winning

Brendan Rodgers hopes Monday's derby-day victory over Nottingham Forest can be a 'season-changing' moment for Leicester City.

Sam Stevens

2022-10-08T07:36:13.721Z

The Foxes travel south to take on AFC Bournemouth at Vitality Stadium hoping to make it two wins in a row for the first time in 2022/23. Rodgers knows the importance of 'winning after winning' and ahead of that clash with the Cherries, he addressed the media on Thursday...

Forest victory – Building momentum

James Maddison's superb brace, a tidy finish from Harvey Barnes and Patson Daka's flick sealed a memorable and morale-boosting 4-0 triumph over Nottingham Forest on Monday evening. The job now, says Rodgers, is is taking that positivity into their upcoming games.

"I said before the game that I thought it was a season-changing game that could change the mood for the team and for the supporters," the Northern Irishman said. "I’ve definitely sensed that, there’s no doubt.

"It’s not just the result, but of course, the performance level and we saw that connection between the players and the supporters back again. It’s such a big game in the region and the supporters certainly will have felt vibrant after the game after seeing the energy in the team and how they played.

"The scoreline away at Tottenham, I didn’t think was reflective of the performance. When I look at all the physical data, those two games were very, very similar and very, very close, but we just got punished by being a little bit too open in the latter stages of that game.

"We took that positivity into the game the other night and it was a very good performance."

Rodgers also discussed a video which was shown to the players before taking on rivals Forest. It depicted last season's 4-1 reverse at the City Ground – sometime Rodgers says was designed to inspire the players to a valuable three points.

"You’re always looking for ways to stimulate the players and these guys are competitive players," he explained. "I think everyone was hurt after that previous game. It’s never about revenge but you know in football that you always get another opportunity.

"We felt this was a game, particularly with the circumstances we were in, that was going to be a great opportunity for us. We just reminded the players of that feeling back then and also the desire that’s needed to win a football match.

"We’ve got some fantastically gifted football players, but you can’t win games of football without having a desire and mentality and a collectivity to work hard and defend well. There was questions behind raised about us back then and it was a great opportunity for us to respond."

Maddison's form – Growing maturity

Maddison goes from strength to strength in Leicester City shirt. Now one of the most admired English players of the modern age, City's No.10 again showcased his abilities on Monday. Rodgers, though, also credited the former Norwich City midfielder's personality off the pitch.

"There’s absolutely no doubt that his maturity on and off the pitch had developed, but that’s what happens with growth," the Foxes manager said. "If you’re 10 years of age, you’re totally different at 15/16 and it’s no different.

"James came into here in his early 20s and he’s now in his mid-20s and he’s developing and improving on the pitch and outside in his life. For me, he’s always been that. He talks the game so well because he has a passion for it and a love for it.

"But he’s definitely a very, very respected voice within the squad. He’s one for our younger players. They’ve seen him come through. He’s a boy from the Midlands. They’ve seen his career develop and they can see what a top player he is, so they have a huge respect for him.

"Because of James’ personality, I can imagine when he was 16 or 17, he would have had no fear going in among senior professionals and being a voice then. He’s exactly the same now. He sees the game really, really well. He calls the game really well. He’s a very, very important player for us on and off the pitch."

Eyes on Bournemouth – Cherries' quality

Currently under interim head coach Gary O'Neil's guidance, Bournemouth have endured a rocky start to the new season after Scott Parker's early departure. Rodgers, however, is hoping Leicester can leave the south coast with a maiden away win of the campaign.

"We’re hoping that the performance on Monday night will help galvanise that," the former Liverpool and Celtic manager continued. "There’s no doubt our form in general hasn’t been good enough this season, but we feel the change in mood now, so we go there with a real determination.

"It’ll be a hard game against Bournemouth. Obviously, Gary’s gone into there in a short period of time and they’ve really closed the pitch up, not having the ball so much, but looking to contain. I still know they have quality, so for us, we need to go there now and play our game.

"That’s important for us, to play the football that we know will get us results – at home and away. We’ll look to see if we can win after winning, which I’ve always said is important."

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