‘A Good Mood’ – Cifuentes On Oxford Preparations

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‘A Good Mood’ – Cifuentes On Oxford Preparations

Martí Cifuentes spoke of the clear mindset within the Foxes’ ranks after the international break, with everyone ready to go again this weekend.

2025-09-12T11:00+01:00

by Sam Jones

Published

12 Sep, 2025

‘A Good Mood’ – Cifuentes On Oxford Preparations

Martí Cifuentes spoke of the clear mindset within the Foxes’ ranks after the international break, with everyone ready to go again this weekend.

Sam Jones

2025-09-12T11:00+01:00

‘A Good Mood’ – Cifuentes On Oxford Preparations

Martí Cifuentes spoke of the clear mindset within the Foxes’ ranks after the international break, with everyone ready to go again this weekend.

Sam Jones

2025-09-12T11:00+01:00

‘A Good Mood’ – Cifuentes On Oxford Preparations

Martí Cifuentes spoke of the clear mindset within the Foxes’ ranks after the international break, with everyone ready to go again this weekend.

Sam Jones

2025-09-12T11:00+01:00

‘A Good Mood’ – Cifuentes On Oxford Preparations

Martí Cifuentes spoke of the clear mindset within the Foxes’ ranks after the international break, with everyone ready to go again this weekend.

Sam Jones

2025-09-12T11:00+01:00

Three wins from four in the Sky Bet Championship represented a positive start to the Spaniard’s reign as Leicester Manager and he is now keen to kick on further following the conclusion of the transfer window.

Our season resumes at Oxford United’s Kassam Stadium on Saturday (12:30pm BST kick-off), with Cifuentes previewing the clash with the U’s in his pre-match press conference on Thursday.

‘Find ways to win’

In the opposition dugout this weekend, Gary Rowett.

Not 100 per cent satisfied with the performance against Birmingham City, which saw us claim a 2-0 victory last time out, Cifuentes demands even more, knowing that City can ill afford to ease off against a side who have had a tough start to the season and remain on the hunt for their first win.

“It’s a team that I know well from last season already,” he told reporters stationed inside LCFC Training Ground. “I think their manager Gary Rowett did a very good job when he arrived, changing the dynamic to a team that is always difficult to beat and strong on set plays.

“We need to make sure we understand that despite what the table says, it’s going to be a difficult game, because it’s always like this. That’s the case if you don’t start the game well and if you don’t dominate the game in the way that we want to.

“In that sense, all of us were very happy against Birmingham because of the result but we still had some truthful conversations about the things that we have to improve and honest feedback about some of the things which were below the standards that we want, against a good team, but we need to be better.

“I think these couple of days will help us to understand what we need to bring against Oxford. I will always try and find ways to win football games. I have a certain philosophy, but that goes much deeper than just the formation. The formation is just about trying to get the best strengths of the players and if against a certain kind of opposition.

“It’s not the same to play against a team who stay low and defend very deep in their box or a team who stays very high with pressure or man-to-man. It’s different needs for different scenarios.”

‘Hungry to show themselves’

Julián Carranza could make his first Foxes appearance on Saturday.

A quartet of new signings could be in line to make their City debuts in some capacity on Saturday, with Aaron Ramsey, Jordan James and Julián Carranza all arriving on loan on Deadline Day and goalkeeper Francisco Vieites further bolstering the squad last week.

Discussing the impact that those fresh faces could make, Cifuentes pointed to their characteristics as key to why he wanted to bring them into the Club, with Argentine striker Julián Carranza providing an extra dimension to the Foxes’ forward line.

“We brought players who are hungry to show themselves, covering some of the needs and the positions where we need some help,” he commented. “Overall, I’m satisfied with the way they arrive to the Club with a lot desire and now it’s up to us to help them show their qualities but it’s up to them as well to perform and show they are good players for Leicester.

“Expectations are always high. When you sign a player, you want them to do well and not only for individual reasons that they can give us the strengths that we are looking for when we signed them, but what they can bring into the group as well.

“With Julián we’ve got a mix – a player who is good at the linking game. Playing in the Netherlands helped him to understand this position of play a little bit and the philosophy as well.

“He’s good on the counter pressing and very sharp in those actions. At the same time, he’s a player who can stretch it a bit, is good inside the box and is a good finisher. We’ve got three strikers with different strengths.

“Sometimes I will play them together, sometimes one of them. In some games we have played with Jordan [Ayew] and Pato (Patson Daka) together. I see the possibility that if we need to play with those three together, we will do it. We’ll see what happens in the season but I’m sure they can play together.”

‘Clear competition’

Ricardo Pereira came off the bench to score the second goal against Birmingham.

With the squad now set for at least the first half of the campaign, Cifuentes is looking for every member of the group to push towards staking a claim for a place in the team, showing the desire and commitment required.

He continued: “I’m a big believer in team spirit and not only what happens behind the scenes, but at the same time, it’s a long season, it’s a lot of games in the Championship and there is always a moment in the season for all of the players, as long as they are switched on and push to get a spot in the starting XI.

“Sometimes it is going to be harsh from me for them not to get involved, but the important thing is what I’ve seen in the last few days is that there is a clear internal competition for every spot, which is healthy in my opinion.

“It’s about someone else knocking on the door every time. If someone is not performing at the best level, they know there is someone else who will take their spot and this for me is very healthy for the group.

“There is a good mood. Everyone knows that we believe in them and we believe in their qualities. We are going to use them in different scenarios, but everybody can be important and that’s what matters to me in the end.

“The important thing is that as a team we’ve got different tools to approach different games. We are well covered in all the positions.”

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