Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Sport
Phil Casey

Brendan Rodgers feels Leicester have right mentality in relegation fight

PA Wire

Leicester manager Brendan Rodgers believes his team will never fall into the trap of thinking they are too good to be relegated from the Premier League.

The Foxes are among the nine teams separated by just four points in the bottom half of the table and lie a point above the drop zone after taking a solitary point from their last five league games.

However, Rodgers was encouraged by the way that point was achieved at Brentford in the last fixture before the international break and will be hoping for more of the same against relegation rivals Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

“Most coaches are never going to be blessed to be only working with winning teams and be up there challenging for titles,” Rodgers said.

“This is a different side (to the game), this is something you have to deal with but it’s the challenge we have in front of us and a challenge I’m really excited about, along with the staff, and making sure we can get as safe as we can, as quick as we can.

“It’s just (about) ensuring and retaining the confidence of the players because when results are a bit mixed and not quite as consistent as you want them, of course confidence can drop.

“But we saw in our last game at Brentford, at a really difficult place, there was a fight there in the team, there’s a spirit there in the team, and when we have that and showed the moments of quality then we can get good results.

“That’s our plan over the course of the next 11 games.”

Asked about the need to avoid a “too good to go down” mentality in the squad, the former Liverpool and Celtic boss added: “That’s something that will never be the case.

“That’s one of the pitfalls within the game, if you think you’re better than what you are.

“I think we’ve shown we can win games this season, and win games playing really well, but we haven’t been able to do it consistently enough to put us in the top half of the table.

“The reality is there for us and we can’t hide from that. We’re under no illusions about the challenge. We know the qualities we have in the team, but it’s more than that.

“It’s about consistency and consistency of mentality and when you do that you’ll pick up results on a consistent basis.”

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.