Hughes Hungry For Continued Success

- Leicester City's Development Squad travel to face Everton on Monday evening (7pm kick-off)
- The Foxes defeated Manchester United in their opening league fixture at Leigh Sports Village
- Captain Sam Hughes says it was a big boost to win the game and keep a clean sheet
- The game will be broadcast live, for free, on LCFC TV from 6:45pm on Monday

The young Foxes defeated Manchester United 2-0 last Monday in their opening Premier League 2 Division 1 fixture of the new campaign.

Hughes, who played the full 90 minutes at Leigh Sports Village, told LCFC.com that it gave everyone a lift to go there and earn a hard-fought victory and clean sheet.

“It was a great performance and tactically we had it nailed on," the defender commented. "It’s always important to pick up three points in the first league game.

"A key thing was trying to build on a really good pre-season and take that into the games we’ve had.

 “So it’s been a great confidence boost for the lads and hopefully now we can maintain that going into the Everton game.

“Beags (Steve Beaglehole) and Ben [Petty] are massive on clean sheets. They always says if you keep a clean sheet, you’re half way to winning the game.

"It’s vital that we’ve got to be on it every single game from a defensive point of view and if we are, we’re going to give ourselves every chance to go and win the game."

With several Under-18s moving up into the Under-23s setup for 2020/21, Hughes' leadership role as captain has been called upon, helping to guide some of the younger players coming through the ranks.

That came into play during the Foxes' first EFL Trophy group game, away at Hull City, in which Leicester triumphed thanks to a last-gasp winner.

“Obviously it can be a big transition and some find it easier than others," he admitted. "I remember when I was at that age, you’re coming into a group that are physically stronger and tactically have a better understanding of the game.

"You’ve got to approach the situation lightheartedly, ease them in and try to get the best out of each other.

"All the lads that have come up and stepped into the Under-23s over the last six weeks in pre-season have showed that they are all more than capable of competing at this level and hopefully they maintain that and we can have a good season.

“Over the last few years, Leicester Under-23s have done really well in the [EFL Trophy] and I think that’s mainly down to the way we set up to match them physically.

"And then technically, when we do have spells of possession, we need to use it well, be dominant and be aggressive in what we’re doing.

"It definitely gives us confidence, if you can compete at that level against senior professionals that have been playing the game for a long time, then you should be able to do that against anyone.”

A trip to Southport to face Everton is up next for City and Hughes is expecting a real battle against the Toffees, as they bid to record back-to-back away league wins.

He added: "Everton over the years have probably been one of our toughest opponents. Probably because the way they play is similar to us in that they press high, they are good on the ball, they are organised and they are aggressive.

"I think we have edged it over the last few years when we’ve played, but without a doubt it will be as tough as ever.

"Hopefully we can take confidence from the last two wins and we take that into Monday and try and get the three points."

All times BST.