Brendan Rodgers said he cannot be expected to pull rabbits out of a hat while Leicester City’s transfer spending pales in comparison to the club’s rivals. He believes Newcastle will be able to bridge the gap to the big six, and says life is becoming harder for his team while comparatively little money is spent on their squad. Rodgers says he’s cannot work miracles.
Brendan Rodgers said: “I don’t think there’s any doubt (Newcastle will join the elite). But those teams can’t be embarrassed to say that either. It’s one of the ways to move forwards in the game. If you look at Newcastle’s net spend in the last year, along with the fantastic coaching of Eddie and his staff plus the infrastructure from where they were to where they are now, they’re looking to build and create something. They’ll do it wisely and sensibly, but they have the resources to do that. So that’s the modern game and there’s no doubt they join that bracket. Look at some of the other teams. Aston Villa’s net spend over the last few years. West Ham too. It’s becoming a real challenge. If you look at our net spend since I’ve been here, it’s about £10m, in the three and half years I’ve been here. Compare that to our competitors, like Aston Villa, West Ham, Newcastle, it’s over £250m. It’s a big difference. I think I’m a decent coach, but I’m not a magician.”
He believes the numbers emphasise how well his team have done to challenge for the Champions League places in two seasons, and to win the FA Cup. And he says it does not stop him attempting to find ways to keep up.
Brendan Rodgers added: “I think the players here have been exceptional. Two fifth-placed finishes and an eighth-placed finish, for that level of spending, it’s remarkable what the players have done. We’ll continue to fight against that level of competition. If won’t stop us wanting to be the best we can be with the resources we have. You’ve got the top six, you’ve got Newcastle now, and then the other wealthy teams, so there’s 10 teams straight away that have better resources than us. Yet for us, when we didn’t make the Champions League, we were deemed a failure. We have to keep finding a way to keep challenging. That’s what’s really exciting for me.”
