'It's Always The Balance' - Rowett Previews Norwich Encounter

Manager Gary Rowett wants to see us build on the progress made in his first two games – defensive diligence, togetherness and positive phases of play – when we host Norwich City at King Power Stadium on Saturday.

2026-02-28T09:00+00:00

by Sam Stevens

Published

28 Feb, 2026

from LCFC Training Ground

'It's Always The Balance' - Rowett Previews Norwich Encounter

Manager Gary Rowett wants to see us build on the progress made in his first two games – defensive diligence, togetherness and positive phases of play – when we host Norwich City at King Power Stadium on Saturday.

Sam Stevens

2026-02-28T09:00+00:00

'It's Always The Balance' - Rowett Previews Norwich Encounter

Manager Gary Rowett wants to see us build on the progress made in his first two games – defensive diligence, togetherness and positive phases of play – when we host Norwich City at King Power Stadium on Saturday.

Sam Stevens

2026-02-28T09:00+00:00

'It's Always The Balance' - Rowett Previews Norwich Encounter

Manager Gary Rowett wants to see us build on the progress made in his first two games – defensive diligence, togetherness and positive phases of play – when we host Norwich City at King Power Stadium on Saturday.

Sam Stevens

2026-02-28T09:00+00:00

'It's Always The Balance' - Rowett Previews Norwich Encounter

Manager Gary Rowett wants to see us build on the progress made in his first two games – defensive diligence, togetherness and positive phases of play – when we host Norwich City at King Power Stadium on Saturday.

Sam Stevens

2026-02-28T09:00+00:00

It’s two points from the former Leicester City full-back’s first two games in charge of the Foxes, with a first home outing now on the horizon. We need wins to climb the Sky Bet Championship table, sitting inside the bottom three, and Rowett is targeting three points against Philippe Clement’s upwardly-mobile Canaries this weekend.

Speaking in Seagrave on Thursday, 51-year-old Rowett addressed a number of subjects as he and Assistant Manager Callum Davidson – also a former Fox – prepare to oversee the team on Filbert Way for the first time.

‘Give us the best chance’

Much has been said about our pursuit of a clean sheet over recent weeks, and while Rowett doesn’t place too much importance on records, he nevertheless knows reducing goalscoring opportunities at the back can lead to positive results. The squad has been working on their defensive solidity in training, but ultimately the key is winning games, in whatever shape or form that takes.

“I’m not a big fan of records,” he said. “I know things definitely have to be discussed. They’re relevant to the run we’re on. Look, if we don’t keep another clean sheet before the end of the season, but win every game, I’m obviously not going to care am I?

“It’s a hallmark of any good side in this division, or any division. If you look at the top of the Premier League, I’d imagine the teams who have conceded the least goals will be up there. It’s the same with the Championship.

“That balance is always something that you’re looking for. If you concede a lot of goals, it’s very hard to win games of football, regardless of how talented your forward players are.

“We’ve done a little bit of work on that. I think the players have taken it on board. It’s not all we’ve worked on. As you can see, there’s still some really good moments in possession.

“There’s still some good moments creating good opportunities in games. But, of course, it would be nice to start making it a little bit more difficult for opponents to score, giving us the best chance. It’s always the balance.

“How you want to achieve that as a manager is completely up to you, but the players have been very good so far in that aspect.”

‘Attack as a team, defend as a team’

Rowett is keen to be as clear as possible with his players ahead of the final 12 games of the season, defining their roles simply to help them pick up wins and climb the table.

“It’s just structure, diligence and understanding the roles,” Rowett added. “I’ve been quite clear with the roles. Clarity for players is super important.

“It doesn’t have to be super detailed so it’s difficult to understand. It just has to be really clear and the players can achieve it. That’s the key. It’s got to be achievable for each player. There’s no point asking each player to do things you don’t think they can do.

“What I would say is, for the first two games, I think there’s been a lot to like about it. Early on against Stoke, it’s very difficult to stop them just putting balls in the box and putting us under pressure.

“I don’t think they’re really necessarily coachable moments, players have to go and do their jobs. But certainly, in terms of the second half and the structure up at Middlesbrough, I was really pleased with those connections and how the team moved.

“The big message has been: we attack as a team, we defend as a team. It’s not the defenders’ fault we let goals in, it’s not the attackers’ glory when we score goals. It's everything, we’re a team, it needs everyone to be connected and understand that they’re all part of the same thing. We’ve seen that in the two games.

“We’ve seen players working incredibly hard for each other, trying to get their mates out of trouble, if they make a mistake, and celebrating the moments where we get blocks or when Bego (Asmir Begovic) makes a triple save, that’s how you get points in games of football.”

‘A well-coached team’

Rowett is aware that Norwich will arrive in LE2 buoyed by an excellent run under Philippe Clement. Since the turn of the year, Norwich have won seven from 10 in the league – a tally of 21 points which has elevated them from a bottom-three candidate to now eight points clear of the drop.

“They’re a good side,” the City Manager explained. “I’ve watched them a lot under Philippe. I think I managed one of his first games for Oxford earlier in the season, so we know how much they’ve improved, what some of their strengths are.

“They’re a little bit like us, they’ve got quite a few injuries as well. Also, again, predicting the team in a three-game week is not always easy, but they’ve got good options. I respect every team, I look at every team, we’ll watch the games, but I think the focus is really on what we can achieve and what we can do now. We need to go and do that. They’re a well-coached team and they’re certainly very capable.

“My focus is never about dragging other teams [in], it’s about overtaking other teams. You can have an argument that it’s a similar thing, but for me it’s about looking after our own performances.

“If we do that, we’ll win games and we’ll take points, we’ll build and we’ll end up in a better position than we are now. That’s all that’s important really, trying to be positive with the players about what we can achieve, but also quite clear on how we need to go about achieving that.

“I think that’s the important bit. Sometimes, if we put so much importance on each game, then if you don’t win that game, there’s an adverse affect which’ll happen. It’s about: head down, let’s go and enjoy the work, playing at home and building on the two previous games.”

‘I want to win the game’

Although Rowett never actually played for us on Filbert Way, it’s a place he knows quite uniquely, having visited the ground during the build phase at the start of the millennium. Recalling that day, with his hard hat on, he says it’ll be nice to lead out a Foxes XI into Saturday’s game, although his focus is purely on picking up the points.

He said: “It'll be great. Being in the dugout for the first two games makes it all real at a club. Of course, a home game is always nice.

“It’ll be great to go and experience that, but I’m not the sort of person who will go and experience it, I want to win the game. That’s all I’ll be focused on if I’m being honest.

“It is business and going out there, hopefully we can perform well and be part of a very, very positive atmosphere, which is what we’re trying to achieve.

“[As a player], they got me to go there, spend all my afternoon with a hard hat on and then sold me about two months later before the stadium was even built!

“I’m just hoping I don’t need those hard hats at any point for the last 12 games. That would be nice. It was nice to see what they were building. I played at Filbert Street, I experienced all the Club a while ago, at a different training ground, a different home ground, but I’ve obviously managed there as well.

“I think we got done by an 89th-minute winner once, which was particularly sore for me, but I’m looking forward to experiencing it again, certainly.”

LATEST HEADLINES

Vote Now: LCFC End Of Season Awards Our supporters can now vote in a number of categories for our annual Leicester City End of Season Awards.

9 Hours 7 Mins Ago

Abdul Fatawu Nominated For EFL Goal Of The Season Abdul Fatawu’s stunning 65-yard strike in our 3-1 win over Ipswich Town in December has been shortlisted for EFL Goal of the Season.

9 Hours 37 Mins Ago

From The Archives - Arthur Chandler’s Shirt Crests Our all-time record goalscorer, Arthur Chandler, began his professional career at Queens Park Rangers in September 1920.

14 Hours 57 Mins Ago

Rowett: James & Ramsey Assessed Pre-Pompey Gary Rowett revealed that Jordan James and Aaron Ramsey are being monitored prior to our trip to Portsmouth.

16 Apr, 2026