Coad blue TIME FOR COOL HEAD SAYS ACE
CON JOB:
CONOR COADY insists that Leicester have to hold their nerve if they are to bounce back into the big time at the first time of asking.
It appeared that the England defender and his Foxes team-mates were Premier League-bound after at one stage enjoying a commanding 15point lead at the summit only for Leeds to overhaul them last Sunday on the back of a sensational sequence of 12 wins and a draw from 13 games.
Added to that is the maelstrom of emotions surrounding the Premier League’s announcement of charges following the Foxes’ alleged breaches of Profit and Sustainability Rules announced last week.
“You can’t think too much about what Leeds are doing,” said Coady.
“They have been on a great run – one that has not helped us right now.
“As a Leicester player and as a club it’s important to concentrate on what we need to do.
“We’ve still got a game in hand and we’ve got to make sure we do everything right, keep ourselves where we need to be and get the job finished.”
Ipswich and Southampton are also on Leicester’s coat-tails with the scramble for the two automatic promotion spots appearing set to go to the wire – an unlikely scenario just a couple of months ago with Enzo Maresca’s side seemingly with one foot in the Premier League.
But Coady said: “We always knew it was going to be a lot closer even when we were 15 points clear at the top at one stage. It was never going to be clear-cut.
“People were saying around Christmas time that Leicester were done – that we were on our way to the Premier League – but we never ever thought that because we know what the Championship is like.
“We always felt that to get promotion you would probably need 100 points.
“It’s an incredible division. We know what we have to do and it’s a challenge we are willing to take on. We can’t wait to get started again after the international break.
“It’s also about mental toughness with the business end of the season looming.”