Leicester City targeting Premier League survival, says Kevin Phillips
Thursday 10 September 2015 08:59, UK
Leicester City coach Kevin Phillips gives us an inside view on his team's fast start to the Premier League season.
The Foxes are undefeated and third in the table after the first four games of the 2015/16 campaign, with new boss Claudio Ranieri building on the team's strong finish to last season under Nigel Pearson...
Considering the change of manager over the summer, we could almost have been excused if the start of the season wasn't as good as it has been.
But once we all got over the initial disappointment and shock of Nigel leaving, everyone's knuckled down and we've continued from where we left off last season.
The feel-good factor of staying up has played a part in the positive start to this campaign but the main reason is that we have good players. To get results consistently like we have boils down to the players working together, gelling together and performing.
There's a lot of confidence around the camp now, a good team spirit and, with the new signings we made over the summer, we look a strong squad.
Claudio Ranieri is putting his own stamp on the team - we've switched from the 3-5-2 we used at the end of last season to 4-4-1-1 - but his methods on the training pitch aren't too dissimilar to what Nigel did.
They're both passionate men, both knowledgeable about the game and maybe the fact there haven't been major changes in terms of Claudio's approach to training has contributed to our good start.
I'd never met Claudio before but, as he appears on TV, he can be very funny. However, when it's time to get down to work, he becomes very serious.
I'd never met Claudio before but, as he appears on TV, he can be very funny. However, when it's time to get down to work, he becomes very serious and he wants his players to give 100 per cent in whatever they do, listen and take on the experience he's picked up over the years. And the players are responding to that.
He's obviously got vast experience with the teams he's worked with and trophies he's won and hopefully that can help us this season.
Despite going undefeated in our first four, we aren't getting carried away, though. We had a good start last season with draws against Everton and Arsenal and a 5-3 win over Manchester United but then couldn't win a game for love nor money.
So the main aim this time around is not to be in the same situation we were in for the majority of last season. The ultimate goal is survival. If we finish any higher than last season's 14th, it will be a huge success for the football club.
I'm sure the owners and supporters would like us to aim higher but having been in this game for a long time, for me it's about staying in the league for the second season and then you really can progress after that.
To stay up, we'll need our key players performing consistently week in, week out - and hopefully the likes of Riyad Mahrez can maintain his goal-scoring form.
I actually signed for Leicester on the same day as Riyad and, although he took a little while to find his feet in the Championship, last year he was getting better and better and he started 2015/16 with the bit between his teeth.
That year's experience in the Premier League has helped him an enormous amount. He has the ability to do amazing things on the pitch. Hopefully, if we can keep him fit, he can do it on a regular basis.
Another player who has picked up plenty of praise is Shinji Okazaki. I didn't know an awful lot about him before we signed him but from the minute he walked through the door, he's delivered. He's sharp, powerful, great at holding the ball up and a tough competitor too.
He's just the latest great find by our recruitment department. Head of recruitment Steve Walsh has done a fantastic job bringing players in.
Now we have a great blend in the squad, some very talented players and competition for places. Hopefully that will all add up to us having another successful season in the Premier League.
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