Leicester City must be thick skinned, says Craig Shakespeare

Craig Shakespeare has demanded that his players be thick skinned as the club faces a tough period following a poor start.

Leicester City have been left utterly shattered after what has been a horrific start to the Premier League for them. The Foxes have only managed to pick five points from their seven league games, losing to Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool during this time despite having not done too badly in all of those fixtures.

Understandably, the fans and pundits aren’t amused with what they’ve seen from Leicester so far, a direct result of which has been criticism galore.

For Craig Shakespeare, however, the players must be able to take the harsh words or they won’t be able to deal with the current situation. He also used the example of Riyad Mahrez, saying how well he has done even though he has been subjected to a lot of flak. He told:

"“I think Mahrez came in for a lot of plaudits a few weeks before,” said Shakespeare. “Players understand and I understand that happens. It is very hot and cold in terms of praise and criticism.”Even myself as a manager, you will get praise for some substitutions and criticised for others. That is the way it is.“Players and us all, we have to be thick skinned. You also have to make sure the decisions are there.“Players want to go out and perform to the highest of their ability. Sometimes it doesn’t happen for them. Sometimes they have to understand they are being substituted early because it simply isn’t their day.“It is not that they are not trying, it simply isn’t their day and it is not happening for them. That is my job then to recognise it with my coaching staff and we have to change it.“Ultimately, I also know that if we are winning and the players’ performance is exactly the same as the week before when he has been crucified, then most people will put up with that and I understand that as well.”"

There had been suggestions that Riyad Mahrez wasn’t too pleased with what happened over the course of the summer. The Algerian had already stated his desire to leave the club early in the transfer window, revealing his desires to play for a top club.

As it seems, though, most of the top clubs didn’t show enough interest in him, with AS Roma the only one to make a formal approach. The Serie A giants submitted four bids, all of which were rejected by Leicester City as they wanted something close to £50 million.

Eventually, Mahrez had to stay at the King Power Stadium, even if against his will, but Shakespeare doesn’t think that he has been affected too much.

"“No, I don’t think it has been difficult for him,” said Shakespeare.“Also, before that his training and games have been of a very consistent level.“Players will occasionally will drop off that level, but we are talking about individuals and the most important thing for me is the collective, the team and what they bring to the team.”City have been slow starters this season as they have taken time to get up to their usual levels of intensity, which had been a hallmark of their previous impressive displays.“It is not as if they are not trying to do that,” insisted Shakespeare.“Sometimes it depends on how the opposition starts and if they have the ball.“We have to make sure we start on the front foot. That has been our identity for a number of seasons. We have maintain that.”"