‘We’ll Move Forward Now’ – Cooper’s Pre-Tranmere Message
Tranmere Rovers are the visitors to King Power Stadium for a 7:45pm BST kick-off, as the second round of the competition begins this week. Ahead of the encounter, City’s Manager gave an account of the current feeling within the group and how he plans to attack a busy few days of action.
‘The lads are giving everything’
New signings Oliver Skipp and Jordan Ayew both made their Foxes bows at the weekend, coming on as substitutes in the narrow defeat to Fulham, and after the debutants further bolstered the squad, Cooper explained the importance of recruiting quality to complement the existing talent.
“It’s really positive,” the 44-year-old commented. “He (Ayew) has Premier League experience and has been a really positive player in the Premier League. He can play in a couple of positions. I’ve said all along that it’s normal to want to add to a group making the step up from the Championship to Premier League.
“That’s not a slight on anyone, we just need a stronger squad in a stronger league. It’s not just bringing in good level players, you need to bring in players with different attributes of experience and know-how and Jordan definitely has that. Skippy has that as well.
“Although he’s a lot younger, he has a lot of Premier League experience in the profile and position that he plays. It’s good to get those two involved, but they are only adding to a set of lads who are giving everything - and that should always be a non-negotiable – but also showing that they can more than play well at this level.”
‘Keep going’
Competing for 90 minutes against an established Premier League outfit, Saturday’s 2-1 reverse at Craven Cottage left Cooper frustrated to have only taken one point from the opening two fixtures.
“I’m really disappointed with the result,” the Welshman expressed. “I’m a terrible loser but I’m also not narrow-minded enough to see that in the first two games, we’ve created a little bit of hope in how we can do this year. We’ve got to capture that and keep going.
“Fulham were better in the first phase of the game but after that, it was even and if anything, I felt like we were the team who would just get in front in the end, I really did. That’s probably why we’re feeling as we are with the result.
“You could sense the tension in the stadium and you could see it on the pitch. Unfortunately, we didn’t capitalise on it and that little lapse in positioning we got punished on. We’re all in it together and we’ll move forward now.”
‘All about matchdays’
Looking ahead to playing twice in the space of four days, with Tranmere’s cup visit followed by welcoming Aston Villa to Filbert Way on Saturday, there is plenty of scope for improvement both on the pitch and back in Seagrave, Cooper believes.
He added: “The two games so far have given us a lot of learning; you just wish you could be rewarded a bit more. There’s a lot to review and a lot to plan for. That’s just how you get better at being the team that we will become this year.
“We’ve definitely seen good signs of it from the way we have played and the mentality and bouncing back. And also, at times when we haven’t been at the level, understanding why as well.
“We’re in competition mode now and although I really believe in the work at the training ground and the preparation that goes into games, it’s about matchdays and what you deliver on them that allows you to progress.
“There’s two more games this week and we’ll obviously take them very seriously one by one and grow the squad to make sure that we’re at the level that we want to be at.”