Dean Smith Manager
Dean Smith has said the Leicester City players who could leave this summer will want to go out on a high by helping the club survive in the Premier League but it is not something he is using as motivation ahead of the final day clash with West Ham.
Dean Smith said: “Not really. As I’ve said before, I’ve read about which players might be out of contract. I haven’t asked the question. They’ll know, the ones who have been here a long time and whose contracts are running out, that they want to leave on a high, if they are to leave. Leave a good legacy, which has been an FA Cup win and Community Shield win over the last couple of years. They know how important it is to them so they don’t need me to keep going on to them.”
One thing that could be important in the game against West Ham is the experience of different situations, something that City do have within their squad, with Jamie Vardy among those. It’s something that Smith will look to use during the afternoon.
Dean Smith said: “You can lean on players for their experience and Vards has got that experience but we are a team full of internationals and they have got experiences already and they have to use those to the best of their ability.”
He also pointed to how a rare clean sheet achieved in their last outing could provide confidence going into Sunday’s match.
Dean Smith added: “A lot of the players have played in high-profile games before so they know what it’s about and what they have to do. The defiance showed at St James’ Park on Monday certainly gives everyone a boost and the fact we kept our first clean sheet in 22 games helps as well.”
