Leicester City will have the possibility to “evolve” their squad next summer and show their current players there is still ambition at the club. Rodgers has emphasised that improving the squad and providing fresh competition for players is vital, and has suggested the slow summer is one of the principal reasons behind the club’s dreadful start on the pitch. Next summer should be different.
Brendan Rodgers said: “There’s definitely that possibility without doubt. That’s something in any team or club you have to constantly evolve that. Come next summer there will be the opportunity to do that, but the focus is on the players we have here. Day by day, let’s get the work in, bring energy to the team and get results.”
Rodgers has also explained that players take notice of a club’s transfer activity and that they want to represent a side that shows their intentions to improve. With the club not doing so this summer, the manager set a 40-point target, but he says that was not a negative viewpoint.
Brendan Rodgers said: “When I came through this door there was certainly no lack of ambition, but I’m also a realist. That’s not being defeatist or not having confidence in the players, it’s trying to set an expectation and a reality of where we’ve been at and how the market was really difficult for us, and assessing and observing the other teams’ improvements. Forest have spent £150m on new players. When we were nowhere near that market, that tells you. Players see that as well and also we see where the squad is at. Football players look to see because they want to play in the best teams they can play in. Of course, everyone here has huge respect for the club and ownership. But that‘s what the feeling can be if I’m a player. You want to play in the best team you can. Building on success is the most difficult thing in football. Especially when you are limited to what you can bring in. Of course, then when you virtually can’t bring in anything, that makes it even more difficult. However, that’s the challenge and was always going to be for this season.”
