Puel Eyes Continued Development Following One-Year Anniversary

- Claude Puel described his first year at Leicester City as an ‘amazing’ experience
- The Frenchman’s side take on West Ham United at King Power Stadium on Saturday (5:30pm BST kick-off)
- Listen to free commentary of the game on LCFC Radio from 3:30pm BST

The Frenchman took charge of the Foxes on 25 October, 2017, before his new side beat Everton 2-0 four days later.

A year on and Puel has experienced a great deal as Leicester manager, leading his outfit to a ninth-place finish and guiding them to the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup and Emirates FA Cup last term, losing to both eventual winners. 

Discussing his year in Leicester, Puel said: “My first feeling is I think in the Premier League one year is a long time for any manager in any club!

“But I think it was amazing to train in Leicester City with this squad, these players, the owners, directors and all of the people in the Club.

“We have a lot of people remaining here for 15 or 20 years, working for the Club. It’s amazing to participate this way and we will see the future.

“It was a good feeling to continue to improve, to develop players, the team and the squad – all of the structure in the Club.

“We have a lot of work, but it’s very interesting for me to try and develop all of the parts of the Club. It’s a good feeling and I think we can continue this good work.”

Puel’s latest challenge arrives in the form of a West Ham United side that have suffered back-to-back 1-0 defeats in the Premier League.

However, impressive 3-1 wins over both Everton and Manchester United and a goalless draw with title contenders Chelsea in September see West Ham head into the fixture in a confident mood.

Puel added: “It’s always difficult to start the season with new players and a new manager, but they have made progress and they have improved.

“They beat Everton, for example, and[Manchester] United. They have improved. We need to be careful about this team because they have a lot of quality in the squad, a lot of good players with attributes like [Felipe] Anderson, [Marko] Arnautović and [Mark] Noble.

“They have all the good attributes and we need to be careful about this team.”