HUNGER GAMES
RODGERS REPEATS HIS DESIRE TO FRESHEN UP SQUAD AS CITY HEAD TOWARDS BOTTOM HALF FINISH
BRENDAN Rodgers has again pointed to Leicester City’s need for transfers as they face the “very disappointing” prospect of finishing in the bottom half of the Premier League table, writes Jordan Blackwell.
Rodgers watched his team lose at home for only the second time since November on Sunday, a 2-1 defeat to Everton.
Victory would have taken them into the top 10, but defeat means they remain 14th in a congested mid-table.
They will have another opportunity to jump back into the top half when they face already-relegated Norwich tomorrow night – providing Aston Villa do not beat Liverpool tonight – but City’s current position in the table again saw Rodgers call for a squad refresh.
Following the FA Cup humiliation at Nottingham Forest in February, Rodgers said he needed to inject more desire into the squad, and that would be done through a summer shake-up.
He later said it would see City bring in five or six new faces.
After Sunday’s reverse to the Toffees, he repeated that message.
Rodgers said: “Absolutely, there’s no getting away from that (that 14th would be a disappointment).
“With everything that has come away from this season, I still hoped to finish in the top 10.
“Over the course of the season, we’ve played 19 cup games, which is virtually half a season more than a lot of teams in terms of games.
“When you throw into that the injuries we’ve had, it’s been a real challenging season for us.
“Still, what we’ve done in the three years that’s maybe happy to stay in the Premier League to a team that’s now disappointed they’ve not won a trophy.
“That shows the mindset change and the mentality change.
“We need to address that in the summer again to reintroduce that hunger back into the team.
“I’ve said it before throughout the season, we need to keep improving and developing.
“If we finish in that position, then of course, even with the injuries, that would be very disappointing.”
Since arriving back into the top flight, City’s lowest finishing position is 14th from their Great Escape season.
They have already surpassed the points total from that campaign, and only need three more to overtake the tally from the post-title season, when they also battled relegation before Craig Shakespeare took over from Claudio Ranieri.
In order to record a higher total than in 2018-19, when Rodgers took over from Claude Puel for the final 10 games of the campaign, City will need to win all of their remaining fixtures.
After Norwich, they visit another relegated side in Watford, before finishing with a trip to Chelsea and a home tie with Southampton.
With everything that has come away from this season, I still hoped to finish in the top 10
Brendan Rodgers, pictured