Manager Nigel Pearson has said that Leicester cannot underestimate how tough Leeds will make tomorrow’s game for us, despite their current form.
Leicester are sitting pretty having won five on the bounce, whereas Brian McDermott’s side come into this game having had four consecutive defeats. However, speaking to lcfc.com Pearson said that we couldn’t let that affect our focus because there is no doubting that they will be looking to bounce back from recent disappointments.
‘We’ll play sides that do make it more difficult for us, and we play a side at the weekend that I think we’ve got to be aware will be going into it with an approach that will test us. We’ve got to be up for the game and make sure that our standards are close to the standards they have been at in the last couple of weeks.’
Pearson will obviously be hoping that the run of form and results that we are on at the minute can be continued again this weekend, and he would certainly like a performance to match that, but he points out that a game like this really is all about achieving the win to help us achieve the aims we have set this season, so if we can do that by playing good football then brilliant. If it’s a game however where we need to win ugly, then that has it’s place at times.
Ahead of the game Pearson has also added to our ranks Kevin Phillips and Riyad Mahrez, and the gaffer again says that fans should forget Phillips’ tender age of 40 years old and focus on what he can bring to the team in terms of his experience and composure, both off the pitch as well as on it.
One swinger for the Phillips deal is that when he hands up his boots in the summer as he plans to do, Pearson says that he wants to introduce him to coaching because he thinks his character and the life he has led in the game would be well suited to helping players during training and helping them to improve, and it is something they have already spoken about, but nuts and bolts of that chat will come later, because for now it’s about focusing on the playing side of football at the moment.
As for Mahrez, Pearson confirms he’s not as fluent in the language as Anthony Knockaert is, but he’s a quick learner and he’s already showing flashes in training of how good he could be, but it’s still about settling in as he is quiet at the moment.
Phillips will be travelling with the squad tomorrow, but we’ll have to see if he is involved. Mahrez will also be travelling to help him settle in, but whether we get a glimpse of him also remains to be seen because the gaffer knows there is a bedding in period first.
Vital Leicester on:
Vital Leicester on:
