‘Intensity Important’ - Martin On Brewers Test

Next Match | Tuesday 25 August Tue 25 Aug

IPS

(A)

02 D

16 H

09 M

26 S

Interviews & Features

Heritage

Photos

‘Intensity Important’ - Martin On Brewers Test

Russell Martin wants to see Leicester City put this week’s work into practice during Saturday’s clash with Burton Albion.

2026-08-22T08:00+01:00

by Sam Jones

Published

19 Hours 35 Mins Ago

‘Intensity Important’ - Martin On Brewers Test

Russell Martin wants to see Leicester City put this week’s work into practice during Saturday’s clash with Burton Albion.

Sam Jones

2026-08-22T08:00+01:00

‘Intensity Important’ - Martin On Brewers Test

Russell Martin wants to see Leicester City put this week’s work into practice during Saturday’s clash with Burton Albion.

Sam Jones

2026-08-22T08:00+01:00

‘Intensity Important’ - Martin On Brewers Test

Russell Martin wants to see Leicester City put this week’s work into practice during Saturday’s clash with Burton Albion.

Sam Jones

2026-08-22T08:00+01:00

‘Intensity Important’ - Martin On Brewers Test

Russell Martin wants to see Leicester City put this week’s work into practice during Saturday’s clash with Burton Albion.

Sam Jones

2026-08-22T08:00+01:00

Our opening home fixture of the 26/27 Sky Bet League One season sees the Brewers arrive at King Power Stadium for a 3pm BST kick-off, as both teams aim to tally up their first win of the league campaign, following 1-1 draws on the opening day.

For Martin, it was a game of learning and development at Meadow Lane last time out, with several players making their debuts in a testing environment against Notts County. He believes the squad will continue to grow as they gel together, as he explained during Friday’s pre-match press conference.

“We have to try and find the little bits that can be really relevant for us,” he said to reporters at LCFC Training Ground, assessing our opener. “We’ve tried to do that. No game will be easy. We’ll be a lot better than we were last week with the amount of learning that took place from the weekend.

“It was a tough first game. It would have been right at the bottom of the list if we had to pick one for the first game. It was a good game. I spoke to Martin [Paterson] and the staff there after and they’ve done a brilliant job at Notts County.

On the touchline at Meadow Lane.

“They said how important it was for them to play us and they can frame it in a certain way for the players. Also, with the fans in the stadium, it helps build that for the opposition. The first game with the crowd is very different.

“You always look for something in that first performance. The guys gave us a period of time on the pitch that I really liked. Hopefully they felt good about that because it was a lot of stuff that we worked on.

“We had a lot of guys on the pitch who have only trained two or three weeks in total. [Harry] Souttar being one because he was away at the World Cup, Alex [McCarthy] came in for a week and got injured, Liam Cullen, Wes Burns.

“Nearly half the team were players who came in quite late. It will be brilliant for them. They are almost playing the games that the guys did in pre-season and playing catch-up.

“There’s loads where we didn’t put the detail into practice. There’s loads to take from that. I love the way they’ve trained this week and what they’ve taken on. We have to put that into practice tomorrow. We have to go and show it and I’m excited about it.”

Cullen was one of those making his Foxes league debut last weekend.

Analysing our opposition, Martin was full of praise for Gary Bowyer and his side, who also conceded late on last weekend, forced to settle for a point against Stevenage having lost out to Championship outfit Blackburn Rovers in the Carabao Cup First Round.

“I thought they played really well against Blackburn and then a different game against Stevenage,” the 40-year-old commented. “They’re really well organised. They fight for everything, are a big, strong, powerful side with a manager who I respect.

“They’re well coached. He’s done a brilliant job wherever he’s been. It’s going to be a completely different game to pre-season. We won’t read too much into that at all.

“Composure and execution and the intensity we play with will be so important and also the game management and how we are going to assess what they are doing quickly. That’s the one bit the players will learn.

“Once we’re on the pitch, we’re making the best educated guess as coaches. You’re trying to watch the previous games and you have to try and come up with something ready for that.

“After Saturday, Gary may be sitting there thinking they want to do the same as that or want to be different. We have to be prepared for whatever comes. The more we play in this way, the more we face different opposition ways of doing things, the better the players will become at assessing the situation on the pitch themselves.

In the opposition dugout.

“They are learning and developing and will improve. We are prepared for what we think will come tomorrow. We’ve spoken about being ready for different things.”

Back on Filbert Way for just the second time as our Manager in a competitive outing, Martin is savouring the prospect of a big home crowd, something he wants to use to our advantage as the season plays out, creating an intense environment for visiting teams.

“I’m really looking forward to it,” he added on his first home league match. “We have to give the crowd some energy and give the supporters something to be excited about to connect with the team. My real belief is that will be our energy, how hard we work and want to fight from the off and hunt the ball and run off the ball and play forward.

“I’m really hoping we have a good performance and the crowd feel good about it and have a good energy inside the stadium. That energy, as it builds throughout this year, will be so powerful.

“If we play with the energy and put in the performance I hope for, we can make it a really tough, difficult place for people to come to, with the size of the crowd.

“We have to create that energy at home for ourselves and make it really strong, as the Club has done over and over again in the past. I’m pretty sure we can achieve that and make it really special.”

LATEST HEADLINES

Ten-Man Leicester Lose Out To Burton In Home Opener We were beaten 2-1 by Burton Albion at King Power Stadium on Saturday as our home league campaign began with defeat.

10 Hours 10 Mins Ago

Have Your Say: Help Shape Our Digital Experience As part of our Fan Engagement Framework, we’re inviting supporters to share their experiences of our digital platforms across a number of key areas.

13 Hours 20 Mins Ago

Team News: Leicester City vs. Burton Albion The starting XI and subs have been confirmed for today's Sky Bet League One clash with Burton Albion.

13 Hours 50 Mins Ago

‘A Fair Result’ – Barradell On Boro Draw Coach Adam Barradell felt it was ‘a good performance’ from our Under-18s to pick up a point from Saturday’s clash with Middlesbrough.

15 Hours 35 Mins Ago