Fourmidable Foxes
RODGERS: WE’RE BETTER PLACED FOR TOP FOUR THAN TWO YEARS AGO... NO TIME TO BE SOFTIES
BRENDAN RODGERS says Leicester City cannot ‘soften up’ as their dreams of reaching the Champions League inch towards reality.
The Foxes chief says there will be no let-up from his side with the finishing line in sight, despite the frustrating 1-1 draw at Southampton on Friday.
Rodgers believes Leicester are in a “100 per cent” better position to realise his ambition of disrupting the top six than he was when he joined the club just over two years ago.
But he said his team cannot take their foot off the pedal.
Twelve months ago, Leicester limped to the finishing line after suffering a drop in form when Project Restart got under way.
They slipped out of the top-four reckoning, recording just two victories out of their final nine matches.
There is little sign of a hiccup this time, as Rodgers said: “We’re competing in the Premier League – we’re really competitive.
“But we are humble enough to know that we cannot soften up.
“It’s something we are doing well at the moment, but you cannot fall into the trap of thinking that it just happens.
“You have to work continually and you evolve and you find ways to innovate and plan. I always add that common sense plays a part, too.”
Rodgers added to that by saying that his club is “looking upwards” at Manchester United in second place as they approach the final few weeks of the campaign.
Leicester have visits to Old Trafford and Stamford Bridge to come as part of their run-in, but Rodgers, who this week distanced himself from a move to Tottenham, believes he is in a good place to do so.
He said: “We’re in a better position now than we were two years ago to challenge, 100 per cent. If you go back to 2016, after winning the league, it’s been up and down since then.
“There have been some really good moments and some really talented players. But there’s an adjustment in your mind to compete at the top end of the Premier League, especially if you are not one of the teams with the budget and some of the other things around that top clubs have.
“But we haven’t felt inferior. It’s a challenge that we have relished taking on.
“Can we compete? That is a mindset. You have to build an infrastructure of behaviours that allow you to think every single day to act like a winner before you become one.
“We have built an amazing training facility – and you might have a team brimming with talent – one that still needs a lot of work, but that guarantees you nothing.
“Any team can be brimming with talent, but, if you don’t have the right mentality, that’s something we have worked on continually.
“Leicester City may never be deemed one of the so-called big clubs in this country, but we don’t really think about that. We think about what we do on the field.
“We are run well off it and that will enable us to be in a better position to compete.”