King: Hard Work Will Pay Dividends For City

- Andy King says Leicester City will benefit from their hard work in Austria this week
- City are preparing for their Premier League Asia Trophy opener against West Bromwich Albion
- King is enjoying the Foxes' pre-season schedule under Craig Shakespeare

The Foxes have settled quickly in the sweltering conditions of the Villach Landskron district as they continue their preparations for the Premier League Asia Trophy. It reached a heat of 31 degrees on Monday afternoon just as Craig Shakespeare’s men retreated from a relaxed bike ride around the town centre to begin intense fitness drills and 11-a-side matches at their private headquarters.

King, who made 30 appearances for the Club last term, has missed out on previous pre-season trips, most recently making a late return to action last summer after helping Wales reach the semi-finals of UEFA Euro 2016. This year, however, the 28-year-old has joined his City colleagues in Austria and will be among Shakespeare’s ranks when they face West Bromwich Albion in Hong Kong next Wednesday.

Taking a moment away from training, King, a winner of English football’s top three divisional titles, told LCFC TV: “It was good to get out here. We come out [to Austria] most years but it’s a different training base this season. We’re enjoying it. It’s hot weather so it’s hard work but that’s what we need at this stage of the season.

“We know Hong Kong’s going to be humid. We’ve got a couple of games out there and hopefully it’ll make it that bit easier when we get back home. The first few days were tough running but we’ve been able to get on the balls early. Hopefully we can be sharp with the balls as well as making sure we improve our fitness.”

The foundations of not so distant, yet ultimately successful, campaigns have been built in southern Austria over recent years. King, City’s longest serving player, says the omens are good once again – so long as they knuckle down and do the hard yards now before the new Premier League season starts at Arsenal on Friday 11 August.

“It’s a lovely place, the training facilities are really good, the hotel is nice,” the central midfielder added.

“Everything is good for us to prepare well for the season, get our heads down and concentrate. That’s what you need at this stage of the season. I’ve missed the last few years with Wales and various stuff so it’s nice to be back and give yourself a long pre-season because if you miss anything at the start you can be playing catch-up throughout the year.”

For more from the Leicester City camp in Austria, keep checking back to LCFC.com throughout the week.