“Big agenda” to bring Champions League football back at Leicester City, says Jonny Evans

There’s a real hunger in the dressing room to get Champions League football back at Leicester City, says Jonny Evans.

One of the factors responsible for Brendan Rodgers’ appointment is his European pedigree.

The higher-ups at the club knew fully well that he is one of the few managers who can give the team both an identity and, of course, the quality needed to make it to Europe.

This is Rodgers’ seventh month at Leicester. In such a short period of time, he has not only ensured that the Foxes are playing some of the best football in the country but also transformed them into a team that has a realistic chance of finishing in the top four this season.

And it is not just the fans or the pundits who think so but the players, too, as Evans revealed in an exclusive interview with The Telegraph’s John Percy.

"“Everyone is talking about us since Brendan came in and changed the style of football. There’s a belief that we can compete and achieve the target of getting into Europe, which is probably what the club is crying out for,” he says.“We want European football and that is the next stage. If you can guarantee that over a couple of seasons, it puts the club on a different level in terms of attracting players.“European nights are amazing, especially the Champions League. Leicester have experienced it more recently than I have and the players here still talk about those games against Atletico Madrid and Sevilla.“There’s a real hunger in the dressing room to get that back and to experience it again. As an older player, you crave those experiences a bit more. It’s a big agenda to bring it all back.”"

These are good signs. When Claude Puel had the reins, the mentality at the club was that Europe is a step too big and that there is a long way to go before it is deemed a possibility – but it has all changed now.

The players are beginning to believe that their level is not mid-table anymore – that phase is gone.

You cannot help but think this massive change of mentality is going to lead Leicester to something big this season. What will that be remains to be seen, but whatever it will be, it will further enhance the reputation of the club.