After seeing City’s 1-0 loss to Bournemouth at the weekend, which left them two points from safety, the new boss has identified areas for improvement.
Dean Smith, the new manager of Leicester City, has outlined what he believes the side must accomplish to avoid relegation and retain their Premier League membership.
Smith has been appointed as the club’s new manager on a season-long contract and has pinpointed three areas where he believes they must improve if they are to return to the Premier League. With eight games remaining, the club is two points behind 17th place.
After seeing City’s 1-0 home loss to Bournemouth over the weekend, Smith believes the players need a confidence boost, while tactically he believes the team must stop the opposition from getting into their final third as easily, and must start moving the ball more rapidly in forward areas.
The 52-year-old is optimistic that those improvements can be achieved over the next month and a half with the help of Craig Shakespeare and John Terry, as well as the quality of the squad.
He told LCFC TV: “There looked to be a lack of confidence. 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.
“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
We’ve got eight games in six weeks to save the season. We’ll be spending every minute working with the players and working on the plans with the staff to make sure we can do that.
“We have to make sure we’re competitive in every game.” That is the only way to drive success and that mindset. We need to change that mindset right now.
“We have to be difficult to beat and work very hard without the ball to make it difficult for opponents to get into our defensive areas.”
“We need to be a little brighter with the ball and look to break lines quickly.” When we break lines quickly, I believe we have athletes who can go out and harm teams. When there are 11 guys behind the ball, any team is difficult to break down, therefore we must break lines fast and play with pace.”
Smith also stated that he would consult with the City squad about their struggles this season, asking them where they believe things have gone wrong and what needs to be done better. On Tuesday, he will meet with the players for the first time at the club’s Seagrave training facility.
“One thing I’ll do is get to know the players as soon as I can, get an idea of why they think we’re in this position, ideas from them, how they think we can get out, and how we can improve,” he continued. Finally, we’ll be the ones making the decisions and leading them in the direction we believe we can go.”
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