James: Healthy Competition For Places

With nearly a full squad to pick from, Nigel Pearson has the best problem a manager can ask for – few injuries and plenty of players raring to get on the pitch.
James, who sat out the early stages of the Barclays Premier League season with a shin injury, made his first appearance of the season in the 5-3 win over Manchester United, coming on for the last 15 minutes against his former side.
Speaking exclusively to Foxes Player, the dynamic central midfielder said: “I think that anywhere on the pitch at the minute there’s competition for places.
“It’s a healthy thing. When you’re training every single day and you’ve got competition you know you can’t slack.
“We’ve seen the balance we’ve got in the team is very good. In the centre of the park we’ve got players that can attack, players that can defend.
“If we wanted to play three, we can do. If we wanted to play a diamond like we did against Manchester United and play the three midfield players and the forward off the front then we’ve got that balance as well.”
And James believes that City summer signing Esteban Cambiasso has had a positive impact since joining in late August.
The 34-year-old international brings with him the record of being the second most decorated Argentine footballer of all time, second only to the late Alfredo Di Stefano.
Reflecting on Cambiasso’s influence in the City dressing room, James added: “With Esteban coming in it’s a great experience. He’s a great player to train with and play with. The stories that he has and the things that he’s done.
“To play for Real Madrid and Inter Milan – these are the things that you dream of as a child to play for big clubs like them.
“It’s a great thing for us to have such a player like that but then we’ve got such youth around him, it creates a great balance.”