How Rodgers has set Leicester in pursuit of Big Six
Seeds of transformation sown on training pitch as club again threaten to disturb established order ‘The big reason I came here was because of the potential in the squad’
On his first day as Leicester manager, Brendan Rodgers staged a presentation in front of his new squad outlining his vision for the club’s future. It was a brief but powerful message, challenging the players to join him on a journey and saying that everyone – from players to manager to backroom staff – would be held to the same exacting standards, every day they walked through the gates of the training ground.
The message, received in near-reverential silence, clearly hit home. Only Liverpool and Manchester City have accrued more Premier League points since Rodgers’ first match – a last-gasp defeat at Watford – and the team are unbeaten in all competitions this season. Three years after their fairy-tale title win, and as they prepare for today’s meeting with Manchester United and a reunion with Harry Maguire, Leicester have the top flight’s established Big Six in their crosshairs.
“The narrative has changed, from where everybody maybe felt they were at [before]. The big reason I came here from Celtic was because of the potential in the squad,” says Rodgers. “If we can create a culture where players can learn, develop and improve, we can be really competitive. It’s about trying to break the mould.”
It is still early days, just four league games in – yet the Rodgers impact has been significant, blowing away the torpor which had shrouded the club under the dour and bewildering Claude Puel.
The seeds of the transformation have been sown on the training pitch. The week’s sessions are largely based on tactical periodisation, essentially a form of training in four phases – attack, defence and the transitions in between. The emphasis is on shorter, sharper sessions and the workload usually decreases nearer to match day.
It is a philosophy favoured by the likes of Louis van Gaal (initially at Ajax and then Barcelona), Pep Guardiola and the England rugby team’s head coach, Eddie Jones. Jose Mourinho also employed the approach in his first spell at Chelsea, where a young Rodgers was first making his name coaching in the club’s academy.
Mourinho’s protege has now adopted it, and added his own imprint. Rodgers prefers a tight training group of 20 players who can remain “super-competitive” and know they are connected to the match day squad.
Training is mapped out weeks before and much of the focus is on ball retention – including never being more than 10 yards away from a team-mate – and pressing opponents.
This season there have already been encouraging signs: in the 0-0 draw at home to Wolves, the visitors had their third-lowest tally of shots in an away game since they returned to the top flight.
Harvey Barnes, the attacking midfielder, believes Rodgers’ training methods have already made a huge difference. “There is a lot of intensity to training and the tactics are very precise going into the games,” he said. “It’s always tough, and you know you’ve got to work hard to get in the team on a Saturday. He has given everyone a real uplift and the message is always about having a winning mentality. Whether it’s against Man City or someone at the bottom of the table, we’ve got to have the same mentality and go positive.
“There’s a few places in the top six up for grabs, we’re being thrown into the mix and we have our own ambitions.”
Barnes is flourishing under Rodgers and so are many others. James Maddison is back in the England senior squad, and Rodgers has worked closely with the
£21 million midfielder, particularly on his tactical discipline and how he can express his talents in a team structure. Before the draw against Chelsea, Maddison watched clips of Kurt Zouma and spent a long time in training practising set-pieces to get the ball above the defender. Wilfred Ndidi scored the equaliser at Stamford Bridge from a Maddison corner.
Caglar Soyuncu, the Turkish