Matchday With The Manager - Time For Togetherness
The Foxes host West Ham on Sunday knowing anything other than a win will see the season end in relegation. In the event of a victory, however, the Club will remain in the Premier League if Everton also fail to defeat AFC Bournemouth.
Smith's men need to win, in short, and then wait on news elsewhere, with Leeds United also hoping to survive if both Leicester and Everton lose. It promises to be a dramatic and draining day. Ahead of the match, Smith spoke to the media on Friday...
The job at hand
Smith says Leicester must be 100 per cent focused on their only duty - winning their own game. Undeniably, supporters and media alike will be monitoring events elsewhere, but the Foxes Manager doesn't see the need due to the clear permutations.
"We just have to go and win the game," he explained. "We don’t even have to look at the Everton result until after the game. We’ll do our job and then see where it takes us. We can only control what we can do. That’s what we have to keep telling the players – control your performance, help your team-mates out and go and get a win. If you do your part, we are looking at other people to help us. We’ve got to make sure we concentrate on what we do. It’s quite a simple message really and the lads have trained well so far.
"Any game you go into, from the first minute, you try to win the game. But you’ve got to get the balance right and that’s always the key thing. You’ve got to make sure you’re not too open. We’ve got to go and score a goal because, without scoring a goal, we don’t win the game. We know we’ve got to go and create opportunities, but we’re mindful of the threat that West Ham have. We’ll have to be good at both sides of the game. For us, it’ll be about trying to win the game from the first minute. We’ve got to concentrate on what we do in front of our own fans – and go and get the win. I’m looking forward to it."
The Hammers
West Ham's season does not end with Sunday's match, with the east Londoners also in the final of the UEFA Europa Conference League on 7 June, facing Italian side Fiorentina. Smith doesn't think it'll be a factor this weekend, though.
"I have no idea what David will be thinking about his team," he added. "The final’s 10 days away after this game. I wouldn’t expect too many changes. He’ll want to finish the Premier League season on a high. I think our players want clarity of what their positions are and what we’re asking of them, with and without the ball. Our job is to give them that clarity. It doesn’t get any clearer for me – we have to win. That’s all they need to know."
The Blue Army
The job can only be completed by the players on the pitch, but Smith hopes the Blue Army can play their role by contributing to another magnificent atmosphere at King Power Stadium. That togetherness could be the difference, he says.
"They can make a massive difference because we’re at home," Smith said. "We’ve seen the difference they’ve made in the home games against Wolves and then Everton – and against Liverpool, until they scored two quick-fire goals. They can have a massive impact on how we play and what we do. Having home advantage is massive. I fully expect our supporters to be behind us.
"Get behind the players, get behind the staff, get behind the Football Club. We’re in the same boat, we all want the same end result, which is to stay in the Premier League. The only way we do that is by all being together and I have no doubts that we will be."