Ndidi: Fresh Focus On The Task
- Dean Smith’s first match in charge of Leicester City comes away to Manchester City
- The Foxes sit 19th in the Premier League ahead of Saturday’s 5:30pm kick-off
- Wilfred Ndidi gave insight into the recent changes around the Club
- The midfielder also previewed the upcoming encounter at Etihad Stadium
Facing title-chasing Manchester City at Etihad Stadium on Saturday evening (5:30pm kick-off), the Foxes are looking to end a run of three straight defeats since the international break and climb out of the bottom three.
Dean Smith was named as Leicester’s new Manager on Easter Monday, with Craig Shakespeare and John Terry also joining the Club as First Team Coaches. The trio took training for the first time on Tuesday and Ndidi has already noticed a shift in mentality.
“It’s been intensive,” the Nigeria international told LCFC TV this week. “The intensity is really high. Training has been really good. We’ve been trying to get our confidence back and to put things together because we know we are players with great qualities, so it’s just about sticking together.
“Confidence is massive for us at this moment. It can bring out your qualities on the pitch as a team, so this is what we need now. Confidence has been low, but it’s not something we have to dwell and keep looking back on. We have to move forward.
“When we’re in games and the way we’re playing, you can see things are not going well for us at the moment. It’s difficult to take in, because we know, looking around, the players we have.
“Something was off somewhere and coupled with the fact that we’re not in a good position, there’s lots of pressure also. It’s time to go back to basics and doing things simple. This is what the Manager is trying to do and then we’re trying to give everything we have.”
The Citizens may be in much better form, sit second in the Premier League and carry home advantage, but Leicester can look back fondly on recent visits to Manchester, Ndidi says, as well as being buoyed by a week of fresh focus at LCFC Training Ground.
The midfielder added: “It’s going to be an exciting game because the confidence is coming back a bit. This is a good time to play them because they could be a little surprised and that gives us confidence for the next one.
“They also know that too. The only thing is that it’s all about us at the moment. We can do something there. We have to go and show our quality.”