After an atrocious start to Leicester City’s season, the Foxes finally enjoyed their first league win since May as they thrashed local rivals Nottingham Forest 4-0 on Monday. Two goals from an outstanding James Maddison and top-class finishes from Harvey Barnes and Patson Daka saw a revitalised City dust off their recent poor form.
Whilst the joy and the relief of the fans was palpable, one man in paticular was thrilled with the result. Having recently endured 5-2 and 6-2 spankings by Brighton and Spurs, Brendan Rodgers was delighted with the way his side played.
Monday was do or die for the Northern Irishman; with no wins in 7 games and 20th in the Premier League table, losing at home to Forest would have been the final straw for fans and Rodgers’ position at the club would be left untenable. Khun Top, the LCFC chairman, was also in attendance, as pressure mounted upon the manager.
In the face of all that, Rodgers saw his side leapfrog their opponents to 19th in one of the most complete performances of the entire calendar year so far. From the attack to the defence, each player did their job in securing three points and a first league clean sheet since April (a 0-0 draw against Aston Villa).
Rodgers’ delight
Speaking to the media after the game, Rodgers was quick to praise the atmosphere that the fans created:
"‘[…T]he supporters were brilliant and set a great atmosphere, and that lifted the players. Right from the first whistle, you saw the desire and quality in the game. I’m very pleased, it was an excellent performance.’"
Asked if he has felt the result coming in the games played this season, Rodgers responded by stating:
"‘[It’s] hard to justify that when you’re at the bottom of the league, but we have played well in periods of games, but haven’t been able to finish them off. The international break was a chance for us to reboot and we knew we needed to have a greater desire to press and stop goals going in, and we know we have a football idea that can allow us to create opportunities.’"
To be fair to Rodgers, the result has been coming for some time, but the Foxes haven’t been able to string together a full 90 minutes of quality needed to see out games. In the league, Leicester have only failed to score in one game this season – the 1-0 home loss to Manchester United.
On Monday, Sky Sports put out a damning statistic that City have given up 11 points from winnings positions across their matches this season, the joint most with opponents Forest. Goals haven’t been the problem; the defence has with a record-breaking 22 goals conceded in their opening 7 Premier League games.
Then asked what it means for the rest of the season, Rodgers put out a rallying call for his squad not to lose the momentum that this result has created:
"‘I said before it was a season-changing game for us if we could get the result because it’s been too long, for how we’ve been used to working, to not be winning. We had a tough start on the back of a tough summer but tonight feels like the first game of the season. The performance level was there. It feels like we can now push on and start climbing the league.’"
Finally, Rodgers was asked if he felt relieved after ending the worst run of his managerial career. The gaffer was initially reluctant to focus on himself, praising his players and the fans, before commenting of how he personally felt:
"‘I’m just more pleased for everyone else. It was a big night for us. We needed to repay the supporters […] It’s a good feeling. For me, I love working with the players here and I’ll continue to encourage to support them and manage them and prepare them to be the best they can be. Hopefully now we can push on.’ All quotes provided by LeicestershireLive"
Please now select the link underneath this paragraph to access the subsequent page of this article. Thank you.
What’s next for Leicester City’s Brendan Rodgers?
Whilst the win over Forest has lifted some pressure off Rodgers’ back, questions still remain over his tactics and if he is the right man for the future of Leicester City. The result is the first step of many for him to repair the fans’ trust.
What matters now is that they keep the positivity and intensity going as they face newly-promoted Bournemouth on Saturday. On paper, it’s a favourable fixture for the Foxes, but the Cherries are in a rich vein of form as they remain unbeaten in their last four games.
Recent trips down to the Vitality Stadium have been unsuccessful, with the visit becoming a bogey fixture for City. The last time they secured a victory at the South Coast side was back in 2014 in the Championship winning season. Since then, a mixed bag of dismal draws and shocking defeats has followed, the most recent being the 4-1 capitulation as Rodgers’ men surrendered their Champions League spot.
Following the clash down south, Leicester then play hosts to Crystal Palace at the King Power the following week. It’s a fixture you’d expect to take all three points from, but any complacency will be punished by the talent Palace have in their ranks.
Ahead of them, Leicester have a good run of fixtures that they can use to bounce themselves back up into the table. If Rodgers can’t do that, then a victory against Forest won’t save him. The pressure is still firmly on him, let’s see what he can do.