‘Winning cup has made City’s players hungrier for even more success‘
FOXES’ CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SHOWDOWN TONIGHT AGAINST CHELSEA – JUST DAYS AFTER BEATING THEM IN FA CUP FINAL
THE Leicester City players will not only arrive at Stamford Bridge tonight as winners, but even hungrier for success than before.
City play their second game in four days against Chelsea – and this time it’s the Champions League on the line, with victory securing the club’s place in the top four.
While City have barely had time to let their FA Cup triumph sink in, manager Brendan Rodgers has said his players will now be motivated by an even stronger desire for achievement.
“Lots of the players became winners at the weekend,” Rodgers said.
“Once you’ve become a winner that activates something within you that wants you to have more of that.
“It’s great, we’ve got young players that want that feeling and we’ve got senior players who want to continue with that.
“That’s important and it’s something we reiterated before the game.
“Our mental strategy around the game was that we’re not here as tourists and we’re there to win.
“There was a feeling that it was great for Leicester to be in the final and it was fantastic and amazing, but we were there to win.
“I’ve got a group of players that want to win as well and are prepared to do what it takes to win.
“It’s good from that perspective that we have this hunger to push on and continue.”
City head back to London with greater pressure on their position inside the top four after Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson scored with a dramatic late header to earn victory at West Brom.
Jurgen Klopp’s side now sit three points behind City.
Rodgers and his players need at least a draw to keep their top four hopes in their hands.
If they lose, a victory may not be enough on the final day, as they could then be eliminated on goal difference.
“There’s no ramifications for us,” Rodgers said on Liverpool’s win.
“We have to control what we do. Everything is still in our hands.
“The players have been brilliant up to this point. We’ve got European football but we have two games to arrive in the top four.
“We can only control what we can ourselves. We have a great opportunity to qualify and with two games to go we aim to take it.
“We want to arrive in the Champions League.
“We’ve worked so hard through the season and we want to take that opportunity to be in there.
“It’s down to ourselves. We write our own story.
“Our story is now to go into this next game and see if we can get a result.
“If we get a win, we’re there, brilliant, but if not, we’ll go to the last game.”