Dewsbury-Hall: We're Focused On Being Our Best Selves

- Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall previews Thursday's fixture against Tottenham Hotspur (7:30pm kick-off)
- Leicester City will be looking to leapfrog Spurs in the Premier League with a victory
- Dewsbury-Hall says the Foxes are excited by the prospect of playing the north London outfit
- He also describes how the Blue Army can play an important role in helping City pick up three points

Following Sunday's 4-0 triumph over Newcastle United, City could go ahead of Spurs in the Premier League standings with a win on Thursday. For Academy graduate Dewsbury-Hall, who has broken into the first team this season, it's another opportunity to impress in the top flight.

Reflecting that success over Newcastle, the 23-year-old told LCFC TV: "It was very pleasing. It was a great response, a great mentality from the team to be able to be able to put [recent form] behind us and have a comprehensive win on Sunday. Four goals and a clean sheet… it’s a perfect Premier League win.

"We’re hoping now we can build on that going into a busy fixture schedule coming up. We’ve had some disappointing results, but we know we’re a very, very good team. When we’re on it, there’s not many teams who can deal with us.

"We showed glimpses of that at the weekend and scoring four goals and a clean sheet at home is a perfect result. It’s about now taking that into the next game, with consistency, and really getting some points in this period.

"We know if we get a lot of points [in December], we can propel ourselves up the league and we want European spaces, so that’s what we’ll be aiming for."

Five games in 13 days await Leicester over Christmas, before the New Year's Day visit of Norwich City to King Power Stadium. It will pit them against four teams who have earned an overall total of 37 English titles between them – a stern test at any time of the campaign.

It's a spell, though, which comes amid several injuries and illnesses among the City squad, but Dewsbury-Hall insists those players who are able to play will be focused on ensuring positive results.

"For me, I relish it," he added. "It’s great because you’ve got games a couple of times a week. The only thing is you’re not really training much because you’ve got to recover. It’s harder to work on things when you’re playing as much because you can’t really work on the training pitch.

"You have to just look at video analysis and walk through it on the pitch. That’s the only problem, but in terms of when you’re playing, it’s a great feeling because games come thick and fast.

"As a player, all you want to do is play games, so it’s about just recovering and making sure you’re right for the next game and trying to put on a great performance again. We are in a good rhythm. They’ve had a difficult situation at the club so we’re not sure who’s going to play for them.

"They’ve had to have some games cancelled. We’re taking each game as it comes. Players are used to the minutes now and we’ll see what happens. It’s going to be a good game, they’re a good team, but I feel like we’re starting to find our rhythm now so I’m excited."

Dewsbury-Hall has made his debut in every competition which Leicester have entered over previous seasons and he still occasionally has to pinch himself when walking out as a Foxes first team player.

"It fills me with a great amount of pride," he continued. "I’ve always said I’ve been a ballboy at Leicester. I’ve watched games at Leicester as a kid thinking: ‘Is that going to be me one day?’ To say now that I’ve walked out in front of the home fans on my Premier League debut for Leicester is a great feeling.

"You reflect on the journey you’ve been on and it fills you with a lot of pride. I’m just thankful to everyone that’s helped me and now it’s about keeping that and continuing to do that and seeing what happens in the future. I’ve had a taste of that now and I don’t want it to stop."

The Foxes will once again be backed by a capacity crowd on Filbert Way this week and Dewsbury-Hall is certain the Blue Army can be essential during Thursday evening's encounter.

"[They can play] a big role, especially with these games coming thick and fast. It’s rough for some players. It’s a lot of games, a lot of minutes, and the crowd are a massive, massive help. They’re like the 12th man.

"We know they’ll come with great support and it’s just about us making sure we’re the best version of ourselves on Thursday, which I think we will be. We’ve prepared well. We know exactly what we want to do in the game and how to counteract Tottenham. It’s about putting that into practice.

"I feel like, if we do that, we’ve got a great chance of getting the three points and having a successful night."

With Leicester knowing they can leapfrog Spurs in the Premier League, the Shepshed-based midfielder admits it's an added incentive, but also reiterated that it's City's plan to move higher in the table regardless of the permutations on Thursday. 

"That’s always a good incentive," he said. "We all want to be up with them and, if not, higher than them. We know the game could propel us up there and we want to be in and around those European spaces. That’s where we believe we are as a club now so these games are big at this point of the season.

"It’s about making sure we take them on and don’t leave anything on the pitch and we propel ourselves up the league."