Why lack of new faces doesn’t mean lack of competition for places
KDH ON THE STARTING 11
THE competition for places at Leicester City is “incredible”, midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall has said, even with the club yet to reinvigorate the squad with new signings.
City boss Brendan Rodgers had hoped to revamp his side this summer with five or six new faces, the Northern Irishman feeling his squad needed an injection of desire and hunger following their eighth-placed finish last term.
With two weeks to go until the Premier League campaign begins, they are the only club in the division whose list of incomings remains empty. Rodgers has said previously that “competition is the best coach” and is a surefire way to get improved performances from players as they battle with each other for a starting spot.
Although the club have not welcomed anybody in this summer, Dewsbury-Hall says the level of competition is very high anyway, that point proven on Saturday as City split their squad, with one team winning at Derby and the other victorious at Preston.
After setting up both goals in the 2-1 win at Deepdale, Dewsbury-Hall said: “I’ll be honest, the competition in the squad at the moment is incredible.
“We play 11 v 11 games in training and you’d think it’s like a Premier League game because the standard of both teams is really good.
“I feel like everybody’s come back hungry.
“We’ve got a squad of 30 players, and we’ve got a lot of internationals in there and a lot of hungry players.
“I think it’s just about making sure every player’s at the best level they can be and then whatever happens in and out of the football club will take care of itself.
“As long as everybody who is here now is giving their best, it’s only going to be good for the club.”
In the victory over Preston as well as in the 3-1 win at Derby and 4-0 success at Hull, City have shown plenty of fluidity in attack as they gear up to host Brentford in their curtain-raiser.
With nobody new to bed into the team, everybody knows their teammates’ games inside out.
“That is a good point,” DewsburyHall
added. “I feel like everybody in the squad has played with each other before, we know each other’s strengths and weaknesses, we train with each other every day so it is
‘INCREDIBLE’ RACE FOR A SPOT IN
We’ve got a squad of 30 players, and we’ve got a lot of internationals in there and a lot of hungry players
good.
“It is about building relationships on the pitch, that’s when you play your best football. I have got a lot of good friends in this team, everybody gets along, we are a family club so everybody wants to work hard for each other.
“That is the same if a player comes in, he has to come into the group and do the same thing but while everyone is together, it is only a good thing because everyone knows each other’s game.”