Cooper & Miquel Outline Season Targets At Q&A
- Steve Cooper and Amandine Miquel met supporters at a fans' forum on Thursday evening
- The event took place in the Walkers Hall at King Power Stadium
- Both Managers outlined their ambitions and targets for the upcoming season
The evening began with a minute of applause for former Leicester City Manager Craig Shakespeare, who was an instrumental figure in the Club's rise from League 1 to the Premier League, following his passing earlier this month.
Amandine Miquel was the first special guest brought out to the several hundred-strong fanbase inside the Walkers Hall on Filbert Way, providing a first opportunity to answer questions and share insight into the new Manager of LCFC Women, who will take charge of the Foxes heading into their fourth consecutive Barclays Women's Super League season, following her arrival from French side Stade de Reims this summer.
In a positive conversation about women's football, she was asked multiple questions that were sent in ahead of Thursday's event, allowing Miquel the opportunity to outline her ambitions for City, who are hoping to improve on last year's 10th placed finish.
Speaking about her dream to come to England and manage in the WSL, the 40-year-old has already noticed a different physical aspect to the game compared to France, while there was a recurring theme about what to expect tactically on the pitch to help improve consistency and challenge for higher league finishes.
"I like really offensive football," Miquel stated. "So in a system it would be a 4-3-3 with a front three of physical and fast players, and I like to work on the transition. I don't believe in all the possession work. It's nice to have the ball but the game is about transition; if you can score after three passes, why take 15."
The evening continued after a short interval with Cooper coming out to a round of applause from the supporters, and was keen to open his segment of the evening by paying his respect to Shakespeare, sharing some heartfelt personal interactions with the former Manager.
Questions followed for the 44-year-old - once again pre-selected from an abundance sent in to the Club - discussing his ambitions with Leicester and his reason behind wanting to take on the challenge of a newly-promoted side in the Premier League.
Talking with senior staff and the ownership group within Leicester allowed the experienced manager to understand the Club's personality, what is required of the team and himself; aligning to his own personal ambitions.
Wanting to explain to those in attendance about his desire to work hard, encourage positivity from the squad on a day-to-day basis at LCFC Training Ground in Seagrave, he will focus energy on fulfilling his role to develop the players at his disposal.
"I've been coaching professionally since the age of 20," the Manager started. "Most of the time has been spent teaching young players to be creative and free with their style of play. So that's what I believe in, but we have to take into account context as well. We have to keep it going from winning the Championship and being back in the Premier League.
"I don't think there's any shame, for a club of any size, to say that their first and most important ambition is to stay in the Premier League. It's a balance between building on what we, as a club, achieved last year, adapt it to the challenge of the Premier League and it's my responsibility as the Head Coach to inspire how we play. I want to have the ball and play forward and play with a good tactical idea."
Leicester's 2024/25 starts against Tottenham Hotspur on Monday 19 August (8pm BST kick-off) and he believes the side will be strong come the commence of the new season.
The evening was concluded with a raffle, giving two fans the chance to win Leicester City Men and LCFC Women home shirts, before Cooper took the time to pose for pictures with any fans that desired.
With the new campaign arriving ever closer, Leicester's final pre-season test comes in France on Saturday afternoon when the Foxes take on Lens at Stade Félix Bollaert-Delélis.