Puel: Play With Freedom
- Leicester City manager Claude Puel previews Thursday's visit of Southampton to King Power Stadium
- The Foxes entertain Mark Hughes' men, who are 18th in the Premier League (7:45pm kick-off)
- Puel says his squad can play without pressure for the remainder of the 2017/18 season
After the pattern of results over the most recent matchweek, City know they still need points to cement their place in the top half of the Premier League, a motivating factor for Puel.
“We can play with more freedom and we can enjoy our football without pressure,” he said. “It is always about trying to give a good response, to be strong with quality, solidity, and good play.
“We played very well away [in the second half at Burnley] and created a lot of chances against probably the best defensive unit in the Premier League, this way is a good way.
Puel: I Want To Keep Serious Ambition
Leicester City boss Claude Puel talks about encouraging signs for the future, ahead of the Southampton clash at King Power Stadium on Thursday.
“The right way, it is important to keep this momentum until the end and we will see when the players start in the game. [They must] give their best and maintain a good level in the team.
“We keep a serious ambition and we need to secure our place in the top half of the table. A lot of teams are close behind us so we need to continue.
“At this moment we cannot take the points but it is important to come back with real games and get good results at the end.”
Puel feels that City have been unlucky on several occasions and the Frenchman sees positives to draw from their fighting spirit over recent weeks.
Training Exclusive: Southampton
The lads have been back out on the training pitch ahead of Thursday's Premier League clash against Southampton.
He added: “In a lot of games we deserved a lot of things and it is encouraging for the future. After we need to correct different details with maturity and more experience.
“The details, we can work on these in pre-season. In pre-season we will have time to correct and work on things, and to build the play of the team.
“We cannot replace pre-season and friendly games to prepare the team. We showed a good foundation in our future play and now we need to continue this work and the pre-season will be very important.
"Important to build the play and the squad, and to have a good balance between all the players for good competition.”