We are now just a week away from the start of the Premier League season, as Leicester City look to bounce up and stay up.
Steve Cooper may not have been everyone’s first choice when he was appointed Leicester City manager. And he knows that. He isn’t shying away from it. But he’s here to prove people wrong.
Last night Cooper went in front of the Leicester City fans for the first time, at a pre-season fans Q&A at King Power Stadium. With the audience made up of Season Ticket holders, Members and guests, it was a chance for him to put his views, aims and plans across directly, for the first time. So what did we learn from it? Here are 15 takeaways.
> He won’t shy away from anything. Steve stated he asked to do a session with the fans as soon as he started in the job, and it was an important thing to him in starting to build this relationship. Whilst last night saw LCFC TV presenter, Dan Bates, put pre-submitted questions to Cooper, he stated he was more than happy to do open floor questions.
“As a football fan, nothing should be off limits with your coach. I’ll always be open and up front with fans, in good times or bad. Football clubs start and end with supporters.”
>Having taken some time out of management, he went with his gut feeling about the Leicester City job. As soon as he started speaking to the owners, he was excited and a had a gut feeling that this was a good match. As soon as he arrived at the training ground it was clear how many good people are working there and what a great structure is in place.
> After the club’s recent open training sessions, he held a session with the players and staff at the stadium to go through their aims for the season and what they want to achieve. They watched videos of the club’s history, Jamie Vardy spoke about the highs of his time at the club, and they each set goals for the season ahead. “Any successful team is built on togetherness. We have agreed on a plan and now we need to deliver it.”
> He wants the fans and wider staff to feel a string identity around the playing team next season. He stated how important it is that supporters walk away from the stadium after a win and feel excited, or after a loss knowing the team gave everything. “It’s important that fans and the wider staff feel an identity where you think, that’s by club and I’m proud to support them.”
“All I’ve done since having a chance to come here is learn everything about the club.”
> He has been clear with he players on how he wants the team to play and the style of play he believes in. He doesn’t want to undo the good work from last season, but build on it and adapt it to the Premier League. “We want to control games but also want a fast attack.” Speaking on the team playing forward, “I definitely want the team to play forward. It could take 1-2 passes, or we may need to reposition and that forward move takes us 10 passes, but we aim to get forward as effectively as possible.”
> He won’t restrict players. He believes in playing it forward and playing with he ball. As long as players are playing for the team and making decisions for the good of the team, he won’t restrict how they play. “Take Abdul for example, I wouldn’t want to restrict his creativity or energy.”
> He WILL have a Plan B.
“Plan A is hopefully the one that gives us success, but if we need to adapt to an A- or a B, we absolutely will.”
> When asked about what he has meant about the team getting “Premier League ready”, he said it was more about preparations for the season and not allowing any complacency or mediocrity to creep into training. “The team is doing everything possible to prepare for the step up.”
> Recruitment is a priority. A key question that wasn’t shied away from. Cooper admitted that he had identified areas of the team that needed strengthening as soon as he came in, and these plans are in motion. There was an agreement that we need more options up front, for either starting or finishing games, but he was quick to point out this doesn’t mean we don’t have good options in those positions, but we need to strengthen. He also recognises for some players this is their first time in the Premier League and it’s a big step up. Speaking of Abdul Fatawu he commented, “I back Abdul 100% but also recognise he is 19 and it’s his first time in the Premier League. There may be times we need cover or he needs respite. We need to plan for that.”
“Recruitment has been slower than we’d have liked, but there will hopefully be positive news soon.”
> It’s important players who are brought in fit in with the vibe of the club and the team spirit. He stated anybody who comes in needs to be the sort of player who will give 100% everyday and be part of this closely knit team. “I’m not having any dickheads.”
> He spoke about how important the match day experience is and how he has spoken with the players and staff on how to improve this. One of the first things he did when starting the job was ask for a meeting with Jim (Support Liaison Officer) to walk round the stadium and find out who sits where, where the families are and where fan groups sit. He has spoken to players about how the atmosphere has been in the past, with Jamie Vardy commenting how previously it’s been the home atmosphere that has helped the team so much, and they want to get that back. “We have to do everything in our power to contribute to the atmosphere.”
> If things don’t go well he won’t shy away from anything. “As a manager I will visibly be there through good and bad. It’s easy to be a manager after a win, but I’m not that guy who won’t stand up and be counted.”
> Speaking of objectives, we start with survival. “There is no shame in saying a key objective is to stay up. That isn’t a lack of ambition. I’m hugely ambitious, but we have to start with the basics.”
> Speaking of the academy, Cooper spoke about how much he supports the academy and how important it is to nurture young players. “It’s about giving young players hope and aspiration. We want to give young players the chance train with us and we will give opportunities to play when it’s appropriate.” He stated how important it is that the club gives hope to young players and is there to support them and their families. With Steve’s family still living back in Wrexham, he has been spending evenings watching the kids in training. He also stated that Will Alves is training with the first team every day and he will get opportunities, but it’s then up to him to take them.
> Speaking about pre-season, he has been happy with how it’s gone. Whilst he admitted some of it might not have looked good on the eye it was an opportunity to try new things and try players in different positions. “We shouldn’t be afraid of things going wrong in pre-season, that’s how we learn and get to try things.”
“I know I have to prove myself. I know I’m not everyone’s cup of tea, I get that. But I won’t shy away from that. I want to prove that I want to be here and I believe in myself, the team, and what we can do.”
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Training images via LCFC.