Rodgers: An Opportunity To Go Far
- Brendan Rodgers expects Birmingham City will be tough opponents for the Foxes
- He was speaking ahead of Wednesday’s FA Cup Fifth Round tie at King Power Stadium (7:45pm GMT kick-off)
- There’s a place in the last eight of the competition at stake
- The two sides haven’t met in a competitive fixture since January 2014
The Foxes are aiming to get back to winning ways and reach an FA Cup Quarter-Final for the first time since 2017/18, when they were beaten in extra-time by eventual winners, Chelsea.
The Midlanders present a third test against Sky Bet Championship opposition for Rodgers' side, having got the better of Wigan Athletic and Brentford in previous rounds of this season’s competition.
“If we were coming into this next game in the very best form that we’ve been in this season, this was always going to be a tough game for us,” the Northern Irishman admitted, speaking to the media.
“You have a Championship team playing against a Premier League team and also a very good team, a team that are better away from home, and they’ve got some very good players.
“I think whenever this game came along, then it was always going to be a tough game for us. So, for us, it’s another opportunity.
“We haven’t been as consistent in the last seven games or so as what we would have liked, however this period of the season now is really about that unity of everyone, in terms of on the field.
“There’s no doubt we can play better. We have to improve our intensity when we haven’t got the ball.
“I think that’s absolutely key for us, so making sure that gets up to speed, that’s something we’ve looked at and spoken about since our last game, but it’s definitely something that we have to improve on.
“Likewise, in attack, the intensity and speed of our game needs to be faster, the ball needs to be circulated quicker, and then we need to arrive into more threatening positions.”
Leicester will be without striker Jamie Vardy for the visit of the Championship side due to a slight calf injury, but the manager says that gives other players a chance to step up and be counted.
“Everyone talks about Jamie since he isn’t playing”, Rodgers added. “But the responsibility is with everyone, in particular our attacking players. You’ve got to arrive into areas of the field to score.
“So, for us, there’s no doubt, we have to play better, and we’re working very hard to do that. Of course, this is an opportunity for us to reach the quarter-final of the FA Cup, [which is] a target for us in a competition we want to do well in.”