Bottlers? Fer-get about it
Kasper Schmeichel has revealed the seven days of silence that set the stage for Leicester’s incredible charge towards the title.
The Italian’s appointment at the King Power Stadium last July left the Foxes in a state of surprise and confusion.
Especially as he spent the first week just observing.
Former Falki rk keeper Schmeichel said: “He came in and introduced himself then didn’t say anything for all of the following week. He just watched us and how we work.
“He recognised he had a squad that worked well with each other, got on really well, played well and trained hard.
“I don’t really know what we were expecting. We just wanted to see what would happen,
“A lot of managers want to change things, bring in their own people, do everything their own way. Instead he kept the whole backroom team.
“They could advise him. There was a good link and still is between us and the manager and the people who have been here a long time.
“As a player you appreciate a manager who can maybe compromise a bit for the good of the team.
“Ranieri just tweaked things here and there, tactical things like going to 4- 4-2 when we had been playing with three at the back. It set the atmosphere for us to move on from there.”
“Moving on” understates what Leicester have done this astonishing season.
A win at Sunderland today will move them 10 points clear at the top of the table.
And Ranieri ’s tactics in defence have created a mean machine that has now seen Schmeichel keep an amazing 10 clean sheets in the club’s last 14 Premier League matches.
But the goalkeeper says that record has as much to do with the rock- hard defenders in front of him as with himself.
He said: “Our record in not conceding goals comes down Mousa Dembele has warned Manchester United they’re coming up against a Spurs side ready to bury the club’s reputation as bottlers.
The Belgian ( left) is aware of a comment from ex-United boss Sir Alex Ferguson who once told his team: “Lads, it’s Tottenham.”
The implication was that his men would be facing a team of soft touches.
Dembele insists his side have come a long way since those days, saying: “In the past, teams liked playing Tottenham. But there’s a different vibe now –the way we play, the way the cub is run, everything around.
“There is a clear plan and all the players know what they want.
“Opponents know they need to treat us l ike any top team. There is respect.” Louis van Gaal insisted Manchester United will match their rivals in the transfer market – even if they fail to qualify for the Champions League. The Dutchman (left) looks like he’ll be at Old Trafford next term after admitting he’ll attract top top names regardless of how United finish the season.
He said: “The Champions League would help but we are big enough to attract top players without it.”