The Foxes have spent the week in the United Arab Emirates sun, combining intensity with technical skill to ready themselves for a return to footballing action back in England.

Testing training sessions have taken place every morning in the Emirati capital, with temperatures touching 30 degrees Celsius before midday.

Following a pause in the fixture schedule, during which many of the Club’s stars were able to enjoy some time away, Rodgers says now is the time to refocus with so much football still to be played before the campaign’s climax.

“In terms of coming to here, the objective was really to re-introduce all of our principles again,” he told LCFC TV from City’s training camp in Abu Dhabi. “The players have had a little bit of time with their families, so it was a great opportunity to get together and re-enforce a lot of our football philosophy.

“It’s also important for the players to reconnect again, socially, so you spend a lot of time with each other. That’s been great, but also, you have our younger players here and it’s good for them to be in this environment, an elite environment, seeing how the senior players operate. It’s been absolutely first class for us.

Brendan Rodgers

The manager has spent the last week with his squad in Abu Dhabi.

“We knew [the break] was there [in the calendar], we knew it was going to take place, so we’d planned for this months ago. The reality for us is that the plan was there, there’s no great shock, we finished in a really good place, so of course that makes it better.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do in this period to get ready for our games. It’s all about feeling, and the feeling is so much better than it was at the beginning of the season. That’s a huge testament to the players and how hard they’ve worked.

“The talent is there, but our effort has increased, our mentality has increased, and that’s allowed us to put in some really good performances, and none more so than our last one at West Ham (a 2-0 win at London Stadium).

“We had a really fluent attacking performance against Everton (a 2-0 away win), which was really good. At West Ham, we had to dig deep, we had to defend strongly, but still have our moments of football. Overall, over the last seven or eight weeks, it's been really good. The challenge now is to keep that going for the restart.”

Heat, humidity and extended training slots have enabled Leicester to continue their work in a warmer climate, conditioning their bodies for what will be a hugely testing few weeks of football.

For some of them, especially the younger players, it could be their first ever warm weather training camp. It’s a different scheduling, but they’ve all coped really well and the attitude has been first class.
Brendan Rodgers LCFC TV

First up is a Carabao Cup fixture against MK Dons, before Premier League matches against Newcastle United, Liverpool and Fulham, playing three times in just eight days over the festive period.

“When I’ve been away before in periods like this, in the season, because it’s so hot in the afternoons, we tend to extend the morning sessions,” Rodgers said of his team’s schedule. “We start a bit earlier, extend them longer than what they would normally be, so by the end of that, the players have really suffered.

“However, they’ve got through it really, really well. You’ve still go to prepare, you’ve still go to do the work, and then the players can get the recovery in afterwards. They’ve adapted really well.

“For some of them, especially the younger players, it could be their first-ever warm weather training camp. It’s a different scheduling, but they’ve all coped really well and the attitude has been first class.

“They’re coming out of their comfort zone with senior players, top-class international players, but all of the young guys have been great. Lewis Brunt has had a wee bit of an issue physically, but apart from that, all of the others have been involved and worked really hard and showed up really well.”

One man also in Abu Dhabi with the Foxes was Ricardo Pereira, who enjoyed some light ball work on the training pitches as he steps up his recovery from an Achilles injury that has kept him out of action since the start of the campaign.

On being involved with the group, Rodgers said: “It’s very important. He’s had a bad run with injuries in the last couple of seasons. He’s quite a way down his path in terms of his recovery, so he’s looked really good. It’s great for him to mix in among the squad and get a bit of vitamin D as well, so it’s good to have him.”

Brendan Rodgers speaks to LCFC TV from the Club's warm weather training base.

Although five of City’s seven players at the World Cup have been eliminated from the tournament, James Maddison (England) and Papy Mendy (Senegal) reached the last-16 in Qatar with their national teams.

“Obviously, it’s disappointing for the guys that are home early, however the experience they’ll have gained from it will be huge in helping them going forward in their club and international career,” Rodgers said, speaking before the clash between England and Senegal on Sunday.

“There’s obviously Madders, and Papy still there. We’ve watched the games out there, it’ll be great to see it, so hopefully they can all stay fit and available.”

Rodgers concluded the interview by discussing the departure of Kolo Touré, who this week was appointed as Wigan Athletic’s new manager. Touré joined the Foxes as part of Rodgers’ coaching staff before leaving the Club for the Championship outfit.

“Kolo’s a great man,” Rodgers said. “I signed Kolo as a player at Liverpool and Celtic, and then after his period at Celtic, I took him into my coaching team. I’ve also learned a lot from Kolo. Kolo’s a great man, and it’s the beauty of the job that I’m in as a manager.

“I love to see people progress in their life and professional life, and this, for him, is a nice progression for him forward into him becoming a manager. I’ve actually got a call with him a little bit later on, so it’ll be nice to speak to him.

“He’s a great guy, everyone has to make this first step. It came around quickly, but he’s gone into the Championship level, and he will do really, really well as a manager, I’m sure.”

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