WRITE YOUR OWN HISTORY, RODGERS TELLS CITY
RODGERS’ MESSAGE TO PLAYERS AHEAD OF BIG WEEK...
BRENDAN Rodgers has urged his Leicester City players to “write their own history” as they get set for two big home games.
For the first time in more than three months, City are back at the King Power Stadium for a competitive match tonight, taking on Brighton in the Premier League (6pm kick-off) and knowing a win would see them take a big step towards Champions League qualification.
Then, on Sunday, they host Chelsea in the FA Cup quarter-final, aiming to reach the last four of the competition for the first time in 38 years.
While Rodgers has acknowledged that no achievement will ever match the title triumph of four years ago, the City boss has told his squad to take the chance to ensure their names are remembered for decades to come.
“I mentioned that to the players, because amid the training and the pandemic, I felt the sense of excitement of what we could achieve could get diluted, so it was a reminder,” Rodgers said.
“You can never beat that feeling of what happened a few years ago and that will always be the greatest story in the history of Leicester City.”
“But we can still write our own history.
“That is what we’ve been trying to do since we’ve been in here, how we play, and creating records, and we’ve got an unbelievable opportunity this year to go and do it again.
“We’ll never beat that story back in 2016 but if we can keep getting better year on year, and reach a cup final, then there is a really exciting period ahead of us.”
But Rodgers has also stressed that thinking too far ahead could see City struggle under the weight of the pressure, so has reminded his players to keep Chelsea out of their minds until after Brighton.
“All the guys want to achieve this year, but we’re not getting too far ahead of ourselves, by talking about winning a cup or whatever,” he said. “We’ve got to finish the job.
“We’re just focused on each game. We can’t suffocate ourselves with the pressure. The mentality here is that every single game is big. That’s how it’s got to be.
“The mistake you make is when you think some games are easier than others.
“The big mentality is knowing that every single game can trip you up. That is the mindset, if you’re a big team and playing well, everyone wants to beat you.
“We’ve set a number of goals to look to achieve this season and we’re well on course to achieve most of them.
“The players are hungry and motivated to finish the season strongly.”