"We've got an outstanding group of young players that want to learn, want to be better," Leicester boss tells Sky Sports in an exclusive interview
Wednesday 29 April 2020 07:06, UK
Brendan Rodgers' immediate priority is the health of his Leicester colleagues and players during the coronavirus lockdown - but he believes the Foxes' fans can be excited about the club's future.
Leicester played in the last Premier League match to take place, a 4-0 win over relegation-threatened Aston Villa, which boosted their hopes of qualifying for Champions League football next season.
As it stands, they sit third in the Premier League, with an eight-point cushion over fifth-placed Manchester United. It's a standing beyond what many expected them to achieve at the beginning of the season but Rodgers is confident this is just the start for his talented young group of players.
"The boys have been absolutely first class in the way they've worked, with their consistency and performances," he told Sky Sports in an exclusive interview via a video call. "Everything has been very, very good.
"But, of course, we can always make improvements. We've got such a young squad, with a lot of young players and there's so much development to make. That excites me, in terms of, if we keep this team together, how far we can take them forward."
Six of Leicester's regular starters in the Premier League this season are aged 23 or under, and the talented youngsters such as Harvey Barnes, Youri Tielemans and James Maddison seem ideally suited to the brand of football Rodgers has implemented at Leicester - and the style he's determined to maintain.
We've got an outstanding group of young players that want to learn, want to be better.
"We've got an outstanding group of young players that want to learn, want to be better," Rodgers said. "Of course any team that wants to do well needs good organisation, and good focus. But they're a talented bunch, a really talented group of players, that are hungry to learn.
"We've put a couple of systems in place that allow them to express those talents, to try to open up their mind to playing the game not in just one system but in different systems. But the style will always be the same - we want to be aggressive, we want to defend as a team, we want to be together and then look at varying out tactics. But ultimately we want to dominate the game with and without the ball if we can."
Leicester and Rodgers are ambitious to establish themselves among the highest-finishing clubs in the country on a regular basis. Progress towards that goal, however, can be disrupted if their best players are picked up by financially stronger rivals.
Harry Maguire's £80m move to Manchester United last summer was an example of the threat Leicester face. So for Rodgers, building a group robust enough to withstand that kind of exit is key.
"The challenge for a club of ourselves will always be the likes of what happened with Harry," he said. "Harry came in, had a good couple of seasons playing at the club, great guy, good man, then obviously one of the so-called bigger clubs offers him the opportunity to go and play and he goes.
"So that is always going to be there, especially when you have talented young players. But our organisation is very much based on the team. It's having those youthful players, who are hungry to learn, who want to be better, then of course having really, really top senior players, which I'm fortunate to have. We have outstanding senior players here that are very concentrated, very professional and of course they have big talents.
"Our challenge is to continue along that route, retain the hunger. It's always going to be difficult for clubs like ourselves to be up there but we enjoy the challenge and that's what we hope to try to achieve."
Inevitably, Leicester also have a different approach in the transfer market to those teams currently around them in the top quarter of the table. Again, Rodgers is energised by the relative constraints, seeing the opportunity in coaching and developing raw talent.
"That's what we enjoy, that's what we love, that possibility of bringing in a young player or a player that's not fully developed, for them to learn and be better and improve," he said.
"A lot of the time we won't be able to go out and buy the ready-made player. That ready-made player might be wanted somewhere else. But we have a profile of player that we like and that we want.
"The recruitment team have shown in the past they can find those types of players we would like, and then we mould them into the team and develop them and nurture them and make them better and ultimately that makes the team better."
There is smart investment off the pitch too. Leicester's owners are currently building a new training complex, while there are plans in place to expand the King Power Stadium capacity to 40,000. It all adds to the picture of Leicester City as a club on the rise.
"It was one of the key decisions to come into here because of that, the infrastructure and the organisation behind the football," Rodgers said. "That's so important as a manager that you have that organisation and I think what's great at Leicester City is the simplicity of everything.
"There's lots of communication between board to manager and manager to board and individually as well on a day to day basis. It's a really exciting club and there's lots to be positive about: a new training facility on its way, expansion of the stadium and of course, where it matters, on the football pitch, the team is young and vibrant and exciting. So there's a lot to be excited about over the coming years."
Of course, much of that is on hold right now. The suspension of football has hit pause on Leicester's progress - and Rodgers is keen to stress that, presently, the health and safety of everyone is the prime focus.
Instead of coaching those young, promising talents or continuing to get the best out of his more experienced players on the training ground, Rodgers is having to work in a different way to ensure Leicester are ready to return when it is safe to do so.
"I think in this time, it is hard to look too far into the future," he said. "I think we're in a situation now where my focus is very much on short term, we all know what we want to achieve over the course of the longer term at Leicester City and that's always been clear from our first day, and when we've worked together with the club and the staff, we've clearly seen we're on the right path together and we'll look to push on.
"But I think in this period, it's been about connecting with the staff, connecting with the players and making sure that in a difficult time for them, they can stay as focused as they possibly can and continue to encourage them to ensure they stay as fit as they possibly can.
"I'm the type of manager where I always work closely with my players. I love that connection, I am personable with them, I like to be close to them, not just on the pitch but off the pitch. You have your Leicester family and then you have your real family. You miss the players, you miss the staff, you miss everyone because you put so much into it.
"It's one where, you're missing work but ultimately you're thinking about the safety of people, this is a pandemic that's not been seen to this extent for many, many, many years. My whole feeling around this moment in time is we will all be winning if everyone gets back working safe and well.
"So the priority is the safety of everyone. And hopefully then, if we get a chance to return, we can finish off the job."
