Brexit red tape is delaying arrival of set-piece coach
LEICESTER City’s bid to solve their set-piece woes is wrapped up in red tape with the arrival of a specialist coach currently delayed by visa issues.
City’s woeful record at corners and free-kicks last season – with 21 of the 59 goals they conceded in the Premier League coming from deadball situations – was the biggest barrier to their success.
The problems prevented them from challenging for the European places, while also contributed to their exit from the Conference League, with Tammy Abraham netting the semi-final winner for Roma from a corner.
Manager Brendan Rodgers tried different systems in an attempt to find a solution, but no set-up worked.
So, he has turned to outside help, with the recruitment of a set-piece coach.
They are growing in popularity in the Premier League, and City have sought to bring in someone “very accomplished”, with Rodgers so far keeping his name under wraps.
Frustratingly for the City boss, he’s not yet in place at the club because of the stricter rules around obtaining work visas in the UK since the country left the European Union.
Rodgers said: “We’ve tried to get a specialist in to work with them, but that’s been held up because of various Brexit rulings.
If you strip back even half of those goals from last season that we conceded, we’d have been in a much better place
“That’s been a huge frustration for us. Because if you strip back even half of those goals from last season that we conceded, we’d have been in a much better place. “We’re waiting on a decision from the panel who are judging it.
“It’s been ongoing for three or four weeks, so it’s been a bit of a frustration.
“It’s remarkable the things we’ve been asked to provide for a guy who is working at an international level. He’s very accomplished. We’ll see.”
Rodgers hopes that in the meantime, sessions in training will help his players put up more of a fight to get their head on the ball when Brentford whip in corners this weekend.
He added: “It was awful last season, that’s the reality. There’s no getting away from that, we can’t hide our record, it wasn’t good enough.
“We’ve seen a difference in that in pre-season. It’s really cranking up the mentality of players and knowing that every situation is a chance to win a game or lose a game at a setpiece. So we’ve worked hard on that.”