Pearson: Toffees A Challenging Start

The announcement of the season schedule will have seriously whetted the appetite among Foxes fans, who saw their side romp to the Football League Championship title last season.

And Pearson says his side will be fully prepared to build on that success when the new campaign kicks off on 16 August.

“The day the fixtures come out is always an exciting one for supporters as I suppose it starts the countdown to the new season,” Pearson told lcfc.com.

“It’s obviously a bit more special this year as we’ll be back in the Premier League after a long absence and there are a lot of attractive fixtures for fans to look forward to.

“Starting against Everton is obviously going to be a big challenge. They had a very good season last year, have a manager who has made a big impact since joining them and a squad with some very good players.

“But every game at this level will be a big test and we will have to make sure we’re ready by preparing as well as we possibly can.”

Pearson’s players are due to report back for pre-season in early-July, having enjoyed a two-month break following their Championship triumph.

And as his players prepare to compete in one of the elite leagues in world football, the Foxes boss admits this summer’s training regime will be as important as any his players have faced before.

“Pre-season is always an important time of year as it gives your players a base from which to work ahead of a long season,” he said.

“Stepping up a division makes this one as important as ever, so when we return next month we’ll be fully focused on being ready for Everton on the opening weekend and every challenge beyond that.”