Harry Winks' Leicester's The Place Highlights
Harry Winks is the latest guest on the Leicester's The Place podcast, offering a fascinating insight into life under Enzo Maresca as the Foxes continue to break records in the Sky Bet Championship. Here are some of the best bits...
'The Freedom To Not Make Mistakes'
“If you spoke to every player, everyone would probably say they’ve improved as a player over the last few months. It’s not anything that us footballers can’t do. It’s just having the confidence and the backing of the Manager to do it. He always says to us: ‘If you make mistakes, that’s completely fine, that’s football’. When you have that freedom on the pitch to go out there and have that freedom of not worrying about making mistakes, it makes such a difference to the game. If you have a Manager who says that, I’ve found you often make less mistakes.”
'I Don't Really Shoot From Distance!'
“It was amazing. I don’t score many goals and, to be honest, I don’t really shoot from distance a lot. For some reason, in the game, I didn’t think too much about it. It just sort of happened and I think that’s the best way. If you speak to Vards (Jamie Vardy) and Kel (Kelechi Iheanacho), they’ll probably tell you that the ones they’ve scored the most are the ones where they don’t think. It was the same situation. It just came to me, the touch was good, and I didn’t think too much. Luckily it connected well and it was a great goal.”
'Joining Leicester Was A No-Brainer'
“Before I signed, I spoke with the Manager and he explained how he wants to play and, for me, that was perfect for the way I want to play and learn and keep improving. I also wanted to join a club early to make sure that I could get the full pre-season and get as fit as possible. As soon as I heard about Leicester, for me, it was a no-brainer. It’s such a great club. I wanted to get in with the lads and learn from the Manager from the beginning. In hindsight, it was the perfect club for me because it’s a family club, run by really good people. There’s really good people that work in the Club as well. I’ve got nothing but positives to say.”
'Training At Spurs Was So Intense'
“Training was so tough. You can imagine being 18, 19 or 20 and training with them. Training was so, so intense and difficult. You’re training with top players, so you have to raise things to another level. It was brilliant to train with those players. Christian Eriksen was technically incredible. He was one of the most efficient players I’ve seen. His first touch was just immaculate every time. When you see that up close in training – the level and the standard they train at – you can see why those players have gone on to have such incredible careers.”
'The Way Of Living In Italy Was Incredible'
“I made the decision [to go to Sampdoria]. It wasn’t a fall-out with the club. I wanted to play games and feel that love again for football and feel respected on the pitch. It was a difficult year, but a great year. I loved it. It’s the same with this year, I wanted to leave because I wanted to feel something, have a purpose. I wanted a challenge and to fight for something. [The lifestyle] was amazing. It was right on the sea front. The weather was amazing, the food’s fresh, the way of living out there is incredible.”
'I’d Love To Be Back In The England Squad'
“Leicester’s such a respected club. I understand with England that they like to select players in the Premier League, which I get, but as much as I’d love to be back in the England squad, it would be amazing thing to do that, but the most important thing is Leicester – playing regularly here, enjoying it and improving. I found when I got selected for England in the past, the more you think about it and strive for it, it doesn’t happen. The most important thing is concentrating on the Club and hopefully things will take care of itself.”
Watch Leicester's The Place
Hosted by Gerry Taggart and Matt Elliott, the Leicester's The Place podcast has welcomed several Foxes favourites in recent months, with Winks the first current player to appear on the show.
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