Super Eagles’ stars, Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho will start work with their new coach after the management of Leicester City named Dean Smith, the former Brentford, Aston Villa and Norwich City manager, to be in charge at King Power Stadium until the end of the season – involving eight games which will define the Club’s divisional status after nine consecutive years in England’s top flight.
That run is under considerable threat, with City sitting 19th in the table on 25 points, two adrift of safety. Smith will be assisted by former Leicester assistant and manager Craig Shakespeare – a key part of the Club’s rise from the third tier to Premier League champions – alongside legendary ex-Chelsea and England captain John Terry.
“If it was something that I thought was insurmountable, I wouldn’t have come – and Shakey and JT wouldn’t have come also,” Smith explained in Seagrave on Monday. “We’re looking forward to the challenge, but we know it’s going to be tough. We’ll be putting demands on the players and on ourselves. We’ll be spending every minute of every day making sure we work hard to keep this Football Club in the Premier League.”
The Foxes urgently need to start putting points on the board if they are to survive. After analysing Leicester’s most recent fixture – a deeply disappointing 1-0 home reverse to AFC Bournemouth on Saturday – Smith believes he knows what they require from their new manager.
“There looked to be a lack of confidence,” he explained. “There was some lethargy as well, which we have to get out of the players. We need to instil confidence, instil belief and obviously give them tactical plans and be adaptable for each game we play. As I say, all three of us believe we can do that. We believe we can come in and give the players a lift, give them some fresh ideas, and make sure they run hard, work hard and have a good tactical plan to go and win football matches. As a squad, I believe they’re fully capable of doing that.”
Credit: thenationonlineng.net
