Brendan Rodgers
Danny Ward has opened up about his ‘mentally tough’ three years playing second fiddle to Leicester City’s star goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel. The Wales international has not played a single Premier League game for the Foxes since joining from Liverpool for £12.5million in 2018, since when he’s been understudy to the Dane.
Danny Ward said: “I’m loving every minute of it. We have achieved what we set out to do, which is to get out of the group, which was a tough group. But we don’t want to go home, we want to carry on, and hopefully we can continue the journey on the weekend.”
Asked if he’s spoken to his Leicester teammate Schmeichel who will be in the opposite goal this weekend,
Danny Ward said: “No. But listen, we spend a lot of time together so obviously he knows how I work and I know how he works and on Saturday you have to remove all the emotion, whether you’re club mates or whatever, previously relationships, you have just got to go out on the pitch and do everything you can to get the win for your side.”
Since joining Leicester, Schmeichel has played 114 league games while Ward not played one. Asked if he feels he has got anything to prove this weekend,
Danny Ward said: “Err, no, I don’t think so. Not to myself anyway and the people who know me. I have always seen myself as a No.1 but it’s just been unfortunate, and mentally it has been tough to keep going every day. But at the same time I can’t have any complaints because Kasper has been the No.1 and an unbelievable servant to Leicester. And his form since I arrived at the club three years ago has maybe been kind of testament to how much I have pushed him. I’m not the manager, I don’t pick the team but hopefully I will give him a little bit more to think about after this last month or so.”
