Cifuentes: Play With Personality

We head to West Bromwich Albion on Friday for another night of Sky Bet Championship football under the lights, with Manager Martí Cifuentes calling for his side to produce a performance of personality and quality.

2025-09-26T08:00+01:00

by Sam Stevens

Published

26 Sep, 2025

Cifuentes: Play With Personality

We head to West Bromwich Albion on Friday for another night of Sky Bet Championship football under the lights, with Manager Martí Cifuentes calling for his side to produce a performance of personality and quality.

Sam Stevens

2025-09-26T08:00+01:00

Cifuentes: Play With Personality

We head to West Bromwich Albion on Friday for another night of Sky Bet Championship football under the lights, with Manager Martí Cifuentes calling for his side to produce a performance of personality and quality.

Sam Stevens

2025-09-26T08:00+01:00

Cifuentes: Play With Personality

We head to West Bromwich Albion on Friday for another night of Sky Bet Championship football under the lights, with Manager Martí Cifuentes calling for his side to produce a performance of personality and quality.

Sam Stevens

2025-09-26T08:00+01:00

Cifuentes: Play With Personality

We head to West Bromwich Albion on Friday for another night of Sky Bet Championship football under the lights, with Manager Martí Cifuentes calling for his side to produce a performance of personality and quality.

Sam Stevens

2025-09-26T08:00+01:00

The Foxes make the trip sitting fourth in the table after a steady opening to the campaign, but with draws against Oxford United and Coventry City in their last two outings, the Manager is eager to see his players turn performances into points.

Albion, meanwhile, are also on the cusp of the play-off picture and are always formidable opposition on home soil under the guidance of Ryan Mason.

Speaking earlier this week, Cifuentes acknowledged the challenge which awaits City at The Hawthorns but believes his squad are capable of rising to the occasion. He says it will be about taking positives from recent matches and finding the extra edge that can turn opportunities into victories.

‘We need a good performance’

The Leicester City Manager is under no illusions about the difficulty of Friday night’s contest. The Baggies remain one of the Championship’s strongest sides and Cifuentes knows his players will need to rise to the occasion.

“It’s difficult a game, it always in the Championship,” he said, speaking on Wednesday. “They are a good team with a good manager. Always, West Brom is a strong club in the Championship and especially at their home. It’s difficult to get points there. But I’m sure that if we keep improving in areas of the game that I was quite happy with in the last performance, despite the result, then I think we can get something. Definitely we will need to have a good performance if we want to get the three points.

“It’s very important for me that we play with personality. It’s something in some games we have not achieved this consistency. In the last game against Coventry, for many minutes, I could see a team that I could recognise, that is closer to what we want to be. Definitely there is still a lot of areas where we can still improve, but it’s going to be a good test because of the atmosphere. It will be demanding. We’re playing away against a team that is not far from us in the table. After two draws, you analyse the situation. Against Oxford, you could say it’s not the worst outcome (with 10 men), but on paper it’s not a good result to draw away. Then, at home, you expect to get a win. We played a decent game but we missed chances, the last edge, and then it’s suddenly only two points from six. We need to make sure we have a good performance and we get the three points.”

‘I know there is quality in the squad’

For Cifuentes, the belief in his players is clear. Nevertheless, he has spoken consistently about the importance of developing consistency in results, particularly in the demanding environment of the Championship, often with two matches in a week.

“It’s important to play good because we know the better we play, the more chances we’ll have to have consistency in the results,” he explained. “It’s important as well to have the habit of winning. Good teams can win even on the bad days. We know we have been winning. Charlton away was not a great game for us but still we managed to grind it out. That’s part of the Championship, especially at the start, with the situation we had in the summer. It’s very important to have a steady start. I know there is quality in the squad and it’s my job to get the best of all of them.”

‘Academy players have got the edge’

The City Manager also highlighted the contribution of the Club’s Academy graduates, pointing to the commitment and connection they bring, alongside their technical ability. Luke Thomas and Louis Page have recently both signed new deals at the Club, with Cifuentes pointing to the faith which Leicester City continues to have in our Academy.

He added: “Academy players have got this edge, in terms of understanding the Club. In terms of how they feel about the Club. It’s an extra but the most important thing is that they’re good players, otherwise we would not be trying to extend or continue our collaboration. Luke has been very steady and improving in many areas of his game. In my opinion, he’s one of the best performers since I’ve been in here, in terms of the whole squad. He’s doing well. He knows that he can keep improving.

“I’m a big believer in Louis’ talent. I think he will be important and I’m very happy with the steps he’s been taking so far since I’ve been here. He’s a lovely guy. He’s easy to work with. He’s always training well. I’m happy that yesterday (on Tuesday) he played with the Under-21s and he did so at a really good level. He showed great character, great attitude, and that’s what you expect from him. He’s one of those, not only him but all the rest of the guys from the Academy. They have shown a lot of good things. Not only on the pitch but also off the pitch. Hopefully there’s many more coming.”

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