HAPPY MONDAYS? FOXES NEED TO STEP ON

LEICESTER tackle Leeds tonight desperate to put one of the game’s strangest hoodoos to bed.

To say the Foxes don’t like Mondays is an understatement. They’ve never won away on a Monday night – a run taking in nine defeats and three draws.

Brendan Rodgers looks to smash that jinx as he attempts to establish Leicester’s place amongst the Premier League elite. He said: “We knew it would be difficult to punch our way into the top six, but that was always going to be the challenge.

“We did it last year, finishing fifth, and I think success would be to get in there again. This club had the amazing title win, but the Premier League is so competitive, I don’t think you can say we’re in that top-six bracket yet – you have to sustain it.”

Missing out on a Champions League spot, through a lateseason slump last time, has been a cruel lesson for the Foxes (Jamie Vardy, right). And Rodgers said: “There was disappointment and hurt at the end of last season. We went (right) away for a few days and talked openly about what happened.

“We still ended up with a European finish, which was a great achievement.”

Rodgers is a big fan of Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa and added: “He’s brilliant. I’ve been following him since I first started coaching in the ’90s.

“He plays a unique style – very man-to-man marking. They try to run the legs off you, and you have to run like hell to keep up with them.”