Matchday With The Manager – Show Our Capabilities Again
Victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers lifted Leicester out of the bottom three and the Foxes now face the side directly above them in the table, Leeds United, on Tuesday evening (8pm kick-off).
Talking to the media during his press conference ahead of that fixture at Elland Road, City’s Manager spoke about how he wants to harness the momentum gathered from that game to further aid Leicester’s survival push.
The significance of Saturday’s result
Kelechi Iheanacho’s converted penalty began the comeback which ended with Timothy Castagne grabbing the headlines for his winning goal at King Power Stadium last Saturday, as Smith notched up his first win as Manager. Discussing personnel changes, tactics and the manner of the success, he felt being better in both boxes was the key to coming out on top.
Smith told reporters: “I think at this stage of the season, given the run of form that we were on, just to get the win, however we got it, was important. Coming back from a goal deficit as well certainly helps the mood. We know we can do that; we don’t need to panic in games. We have the capabilities to come back now. That’s a good position to be in.
“We wanted to be aggressive and get the supporters behind us. A lot of people were surprised at the selections, but we felt it was a game we needed a little bit of pace to hurt the opposition. We’re going to have to be adaptable in the games that we play.
“For 20 minutes after they scored, we got overrun in midfield. It was a bit of a risk to play Pato (Patson Daka) on the left, it’s not a position he’s been used to, but we had a lack of options in those areas.
“Tetê came into the game, so we just felt it was a risk worth taking, because he can run all day and he’s got pace to burn as well, so we’d knew he’d be a threat and he had a few chances in the game.
“I said when I first came here, the game is about the two 18-yard boxes. You’ve got to be strong to defend yours and you’ve got to go and create big chances in theirs. The game came together really well. We didn’t give up many chances to Wolves on Saturday.
“I think they’ve only had one or two shots in our box. One got blocked very well by Wout [Faes] and obviously there was the goal, so we restricted them to few chances inside the box. We had some big chances. That’s what we need to go and do to continue the run of results.”
Moving on to Leeds
No one is getting ahead of themselves as the fight to retain Premier League status resumes with a proverbial six-pointer in Yorkshire. Smith isn’t looking too far ahead, either, with concentration firmly on how to take another positive result from a side who have been defeated in their last three games.
“It gives everyone a lift by getting that win but we know there’s still work to be done,” the 52-year-old explained. “We’re just taking it game by game. This one comes around very quickly. We were in yesterday (Sunday) and trained, did our debrief and all focus now is on Leeds at Elland Road tomorrow.
“We’re not looking at this week in general, we’re just looking at Tuesday and Leeds United, which is a great place to go and play football. Our job is to try keep them quiet. You don’t give them any reason to be lifted.
“We can’t give cheap free-kicks away around the box, cheap set pieces, cheap goals, because that will just lift the atmosphere in the stadium. We have to keep them quiet as long as we can. If we do that, it makes it a better place for us to go.
“They’ve had a bit of a struggle so far, a bit like us. They’ve been on the back of a few heavy defeats at home, but I’m sure they’ll see this game as a big one to pull away from the position they are in.
“It’s crucial because you’re playing against a team that’s in and around you. If we beat them, we go above them, so it’s a big thing. All we can do is concentrate on ourselves. We’ve looked at Leeds and we’ll analyse how they play and what their strengths and weaknesses are. But ultimately, it’s got to be about us and how we do it.”
Games coming thick and fast
Following Leeds, five matches remain in the month of May, with the idea to maintain a high-performance level despite the quick turnaround between fixtures.
The ex-Aston Villa manager added: “Most of our players are international footballers, so they are used to playing games every three of four days. This isn’t a problem for them. There are an awful lot of robust characters in that dressing room who want to keep going and keep playing.
“We haven’t got many games left. We only came in for an eight-game period and we’re two games into that already - it’s 25 per cent gone. These games are really important, and we can’t give anything away in any of them.
“They are games that we can go and compete in and get results and get points. There are a couple of tough ones in there, Newcastle away, you saw them on Sunday, Liverpool too. We’ve got to get three points at Leeds and we’re just concentrating on that first.
“It depends on your performance levels. If they are good again and you get a good result, that momentum, you go with it. The players can only control their performance, they can’t control what the opposition do, what the referee does. If you do that, good performances are usually followed by a good result.
“I’ve been pleased. The players have been really engaging in the meetings that we’ve had and the training sessions that we’ve had have been good. Their attitude to training has been first class. It hasn’t surprised me how they have taken on information.”