Brendan Rodgers
Ricardo Pereira can take as long as he needs to get back to full fitness, Brendan Rodgers said after the Leicester City full-back made his first Premier League start in 11 months on Wednesday night. Ricardo, fit again after his cruciate ligament injury last March, showed glimpses of his best form at Fulham, but Rodgers said he is still searching for the level City fans know he can reach. After Wednesday’s 2-0 win, Rodgers also spoke about Kelechi Iheanacho’s confidence-boosting performance, Youri Tielemans’ complete display, Cengiz Under’s patience, and he compared James Maddison to Kevin De Bruyne.
Read the full transcript below.
Q: Fulham wanted to press but you seemed very energetic and started quickly with a wonderful goal?
Brendan Rodgers: “I thought it was an excellent win. You only need to look at Fulham’s record over this last 10 games, how hard they have been to beat, especially in some of the big games they’ve played, so we knew it was going to be a tough game. Tonight was about a mixture of pressing the game and closing the lines. We scored two goals of great quality in the first half. Totally different. The first one, we counter-pressed and won the ball back, and then it was a brilliant cross from Madders, and I’m delighted for Kels as he makes great contact and scores. The second one was a different type of goal again. We played quickly, with good possession, we played through the gaps, and then we had our left-back getting up there to support, show great energy, and score for 2-0. In the second half, we could just drop our lines in, control the game, not give away so much, and manage the game, which this team is improving at all the time.”
Q: James Justin is a shining light for you this season?Brendan Rodgers: “He’s been amazing since Ricky went out of the team with the number of positions the boy has played for me and the robustness of him. I actually said to him tonight, because the first game (against Fulham), when we lost, we got done on the counter-attack too easy a few times. When you don’t have Wilf playing, it’s hard to let both full-backs go, so we asked him to deny the space a little bit more so they didn’t break out so much. And then in the right moments go, and to be fair to him, he went in exactly the right moment, gets up and scores a brilliant goal. He’s been phenomenal for us, and a great example of a young player coming in, investing his time to learn of the top players, and then when he’s been in the team, he’s been sensational.”
Q: You must be really pleased with how Hamza Choudhury has managed the last 48 hours, to go from nearly moving to Newcastle to playing at Fulham tonight?
BrendanRodgers: “He’s been terrific. I said earlier in the window that he wasn’t a player that we wanted to lose. He’s a very important player for our squad, but of course all players want to play. We were going to grant him that possibility if we could get someone in. I said to him on the Monday after training and framed it for him: ‘You may not get out, and if you don’t, you’re playing on Wednesday night, and that shows you how important you are to us, you’re going to play in our next Premier League game. He had an hour, and I thought he did really well considering he hasn’t played for a period of time. He showed great quality in there alongside Youri, broke the game up, passed it simple, and put in a hell of a lot of work.”
Brendan Rodgers: “I said throughout the window that it was going to be difficult for us and we only wanted to bring someone in if it was really going to help us and enhance the squad we have. There was Hamza’s situation, with one or two possibilities around in terms of bringing a midfield player in, but it just wasn’t going to work out for us, so we didn’t end up bringing anyone in.”
Q: You mentioned before that Jamie Vardy might be back for Wolves, with Wilfred Ndidi a little longer. Is that still the case?
Brendan Rodgers: “Both of those boys, we’re very hopeful they will be back, which is great news for us. I spoke to the medical team today and they’ve been working outside really well. With another few days’ training, we’re very confident they will be involved, which will be a huge boost for us.”
Q: The second goal, is that the best team goal you’ve scored this season?
Brendan Rodgers: “Off the top of my head, yeah. I thought it was really good positioning on the pitch, we couldn’t go forward so played it back then worked it out to the side, then played through the thirds. Then you need great technical quality and great energy to score that type of goal. I thought it was outstanding in terms of playing through their press and their pressure, and then to end up with your left-back rounding the goalkeeper and finishing with that composure after a 70-yard run was fantastic. I watched it again before I came out and I’m delighted for the players, and it showed their real quality.”
Q: Kelechi Iheanacho started that with his turn and pass and scored one as well. Has he impressed you tonight?Brendan Rodgers: “I think he’ll gain a lot of confidence from tonight. He’s a young player who has worked very hard. On his last Premier League start against Palace, he missed a penalty and it might have knocked his confidence a bit, but over these past few weeks we’ve tried to get him going again because he works so hard every day. It’s very difficult when you’re playing behind Jamie Vardy who is one of Europe’s leading strikers. Strikers get confidence from scoring goals, but we said to him to just keep working hard and he would get opportunities and I thought his header was brilliant. He had to adjust for it and get a good contact on it. Throughout the game, defensively, he was tactically very good for us. You saw him right at the very end he made a great block and that shows he gives everything for the team. We’re all delighted for him.”
Q: That’s the first time James Maddison has delivered two assists in a Premier League game. He’s shown that if you give him an ounce of space, he will hurt you?
Brendan Rodgers: “He’s got immense quality. The cross that comes in, if it’s Kevin De Bruyne, everyone will be talking about it. It’s an unbelievable cross, just his ability. In fairness to James, he’s created lots of moments for the team and we haven’t quite got the finish, whether it’s been from a last pass, or whether it’s been from a corner. But his skill on the edge of the box for the second goal, where it looks like he’s going to shoot, chops it back, and times his pass, he’s an absolutely outstanding young player and I’m so happy he plays in my team.”
Brendan Rodgers: “I thought he was brilliant. With the ball, his quality. His decision-making is so good, whether to play it first time, or whether to dribble with it into space. But also his communication, you heard him talking throughout. His game management was so good this evening. He’s been outstanding for us all year. At 23 years of age, to play with that level of understanding of the game, and quality, again I’m very happy he’s in my team.”
Q: It was Ricardo Pereira’s first Premier League start in 11 months. How much football does he need to get back to the level he was before his injury?
Brendan Rodgers: “It doesn’t really matter. You saw him tonight, he’s obviously not 100 per cent fit but the only way he’s going to get that is through more game time and training. He’s worked so hard to get back and you saw him coming into games now and it’s just going to take a bit of time. I’m not overly concerned with that. He was effective tonight. I’m just happy and delighted he’s now back for us in this second half of the season.”
Q: What’s the latest on Wesley Fofana?
Brendan Rodgers: “The medical guys are telling me probably four to five weeks. It’s a shame for him, because he’s been brilliant for us. Four to five weeks is what they say.”
Q: Do you feel like you’re back on track now after a couple of hiccups in the last two games?
Brendan Rodgers: “Not really, no. Someone asked me before the game about how I felt about one point from six. We’re only human. I’ll happily take 42 points after 22 games. I’m happy with that. I’ll focus more on how well the players have done as opposed to nitpicking. There was disappointment at the weekend but it’s the beauty of this team, if you look over the stretches of games, we get over our setbacks. We’re realistic, we know we’re going to lose games. I’ve always said if they weren’t human, we’d win every game. They’re going to lose games but it’s how you respond to those setbacks, and the players have responded fantastically tonight with a really good performance and three points, and we’ll continue to be that way until the end of the season and see where that takes us.”
Q: How do you see the progress of your two Turkish internationals?
Brendan Rodgers: “Cags we saw all through last season, how he’s progressed into one of the top centre-halves in the league. He was obviously out for a long period this season, and it’s great to have him back fresh and available to play. For Cengo, it’s just adaption to the Premier League. He’s shown moments of quality for us, but it’s difficult for him because there are other players in his position that understand the Premier League. But he’s still a very important player for us and this second part of the season, I think we’ll see that. Having competition in the squad is really important for me and he adds that competition. I think he’s really enjoying his time.”
