Rodgers: This Phase Is All About Preparation
- Leicester City tackle Scunthorpe United at Glanford Park on Tuesday evening (7:30pm BST kick-off)
- Manager Brendan Rodgers is excited to see his side in action for the first time in pre-season
- The Foxes have spent the past week away in France for a summer training camp
- Rodgers is keen to continue developing his squad's football fitness over the next four weeks
While Rodgers insists the match is primarily intended to continue the process of building his squad's overall football fitness, there are also tactical elements which will be tested at Glanford Park.
The Foxes manager will rotate his squad throughout the encounter with the Sky Bet League 2 side in order to give as many players as possible the opportunity to advance their fitness.
Over the past two weeks, firstly at Belvoir Drive and then Évian-les-Bains, Rodgers has monitored the progress of his talented squad during internal matches on the training field.
However, the Northern Irishman is now looking forward to seeing how well they can handle coming up against a side who intend on putting them under increased pressure.
"They’ve had a lot of football, but they’ve obviously not had games yet, apart from the internal ones," Rodgers said ahead of Tuesday's 7:30pm BST kick-off in north Lincolnshire.
Rodgers Lauds Players' Commitment In Évian
Brendan Rodgers says his 'hugely talented' Foxes have pushed themselves to the limit during their pre-season training camp in Évian-les-Bains.
"We’re going to play two 45 minutes so lots of players will get the opportunity to play and get their first taste of football this season and I’m looking forward to it.
"This phase now is just about the preparation so it’s about building that football fitness. Like I said, they’re not in the position where they can go for that 90 minutes yet.
"It’s about taking those first steps into game situations and it’s all about football fitness, but of course there’s a tactical element to it.
"We’re continuously working on tactical items over the course of pre-season and that will be the first chance we have to see it under a little bit of pressure."
Following the clash with Scunthorpe on Tuesday, City later head to Cheltenham Town on Saturday as the pace gathers on their pre-season schedule (3pm BST kick-off).
For Rodgers, these next four weeks are key as the Foxes manager and his backroom team assess the squad's fitness ahead of the 2019/20 campaign.
"You’re still building fitness, we’re only into our third week, and we’ve got another four weeks to go so it intensifies as time goes on," he added.
"I have to say at this early stage that I’ve been very pleased with what the players have produced, in terms of the mentality, which is so important.
"The guys came back into this phase after their rests in really good condition and that always makes it easier for a management team to take them through the levels.
"I’ve been so pleased with their application and attitude. However, there’s still a real, real lot of work to go to get ready for the first game."