NO QUICK FIX
RODGERS TRYING TO SOLVE CITY’S DEFENSIVE ISSUES
LEICESTER City’s defensive issues will be difficult to rectify amid a busy schedule, Brendan Rodgers has admitted.
The manager “hasn’t been overly pleased” with his side’s record at the back this campaign, with 10 goals conceded in six Premier League matches, writes Jordan Blackwell.
That’s the fifth-worst record in the division so far, while the underlying numbers are troubling too, with City ranking sixth-worst for conceding shots.
In each of the previous two seasons, City’s defence has been solid, and they have ranked in the top five for restricting chances.
Their problems have not been helped by injuries to Jonny Evans, Wesley Fofana, and James Justin, and Rodgers has said it is hard to work on a solution with the games coming thick and fast.
City are preparing for tomorrow’s trip to Legia Warsaw in the Europa League, and then travel to Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Over the international break, all of the fit defenders bar Ryan Bertrand are expected to be called up by their countries, again limiting the time Rodgers has to work with his players.
“(Evans and Fofana’s absences) certainly make a big difference,” Rodgers said.
“I think if you look at our record over the time we’ve been here, we’ve been very strong structurally and in our defending. We don’t concede too many shots.
“I haven’t been overly pleased with that aspect of our game. Our problem in this moment is that we’re not getting a great deal of time to work, because you’re playing, recovering, and playing again.
“However, we’re still analysing, we’re still giving the players confidence and I believe over the course of the season that will improve.
“Fundamentally, in order to attack well you need to defend well. We’re not as stable as I would want us to be.
“But that’s the challenge and that’s the great work we have ahead of us to get that stability back, and then that will give us even more confidence going forward.”
In City’s nine matches across all competitions so far, they have started with six different back-four combinations, while none are the same as the one they worked on in pre-season, with Fofana breaking his leg in the final summer friendly against Villarreal.
Included in several of the backlines are new signings Jannik Vestergaard and Ryan Bertrand, with the latter saying that time is needed for consistency to be found.
“It’s been okay,” the left-back said on the chopping and changing in the back four.
“I guess subconsciously you’re aware that the line-ups have changed and you always want consistency in the back-line.
“Unfortunately, that’s perhaps not been the case, but we have a real good energy in the team and a real vision to do well. The further we go into the season, things will settle and we’ll establish ourselves as an excellent back-line.”