Kitchener defiant as Tigers target play-offs
UNDER-FIRE Leicester will rescue their disastrous campaign by reaching the Premiership play-offs, insists Graham Kitchener.
Chastened by five successive losses and their worst European performance in 17 years, which culminated in last week’s humiliating 43-0 home defeat by Glasgow, Tigers’ season looks in ruins after the sacking of Richard Cockerill.
Kitchener begs to differ, telling TRP: “It’s been a disastrous period. It’s hard to put a finger on why but we’ve lacked intensity at times and top quality teams put you away.
“We’ve had a tough run of fixtures against Exeter, Saracens, Wasps, Racing and Glasgow and haven’t been at 100 per cent so we’ve been punished, but we’ve still got good personnel at this club and the league will be a massive focus now.”
Leicester lie fifth and Kitchener added: “I’ve been at this club six years and we’ve been in bad situations before where people have written us off and said we wouldn’t make the play- offs, but that’s when we’ve tightened as a group.
“In my first season, in 2011-12, we were near the bottom of the table halfway through but ended in the final. We see it as a challenge to make it again, we aren’t giving this up.”
Leicester have hired consultants to launch a world-wide search for a new director of rugby following Cockerill’s dismissal, but Kitchener, who last week signed a new two-year contract, rejects the notion that the club is being poorly run.
He said: “Tigers aren’t badly run at all; the model is very efficient and we spend up to the salary cap. If you look at our squad you can’t say we’re lacking players, but we have been very unlucky with injuries.
“Our backline’s been decimated with top-class players like Matt Toomua, JP Pietersen and Manu Tuilagi unavailable. Despite that we’ve still played great rugby at times and I’m confident we can do it again.”