Boss hails fringe stars

IF Leicester City qualify for the Champions League and reach the FA Cup final, Brendan Rodgers will have a whole squad to thank.

In contrast to the title-winning campaign, City have needed a big group to succeed, with 21 separate players starting at least 10 matches this term, compared to just 14 when the club lifted the Premier League trophy.

But the manager puts those fringe players’ success down to their attitude and approach.

“It’s the player themselves,” Rodgers said. “They’ve been the ultimate professionals.

“We said at the start of the season: ‘You need to be ready, you won’t always play but there’s an element of readiness you need to have.’

“They understand now how I work that if you’re training well and working well, you can come straight into the team and that’s what has happened.

“Those players that have come in, it shows you how hard they’ve worked to be able to come into big games and have an intensity.”