LEICESTER manager Brendan Rodgers plans to stage dress rehearsals at the King Power Stadium to get his squad used to playing with no fans.
Rodgers knows the atmosphere created at Foxes’ home games has played a key role in the team’s success in recent seasons.
Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester side currently sit third in the Premier League table
But when the Premier League resumes this month there will be none of that, with supporters shut out due to coronavirus rules.
Leicester have four home league games to play plus an FA Cup quarter-final against Chelsea.
And Rodgers wants to stage dummy runs for the players to try to combat what he says will be a “strange” feel to future matches.
The Northern Irishman knows it will be important for the team to experience the absence of atmosphere as they are still bidding for a Champions League spot as well as Cup glory.
Rodgers said: “We’ll look at trying to prepare as best we can for that. We’ll have some practice games at the King Power Stadium before we play, so they’ll feel and get a sense of it at our stadium.
“The game’s not the same. It’s absolutely not. It can’t be. But it’s what we have to do.”
Foxes were next scheduled to visit Watford, followed by a home clash with Brighton.
Rodgers added: “We’d obviously love our supporters to be there but there won’t be any. However, we’ll have a cause we’ll be fighting for.
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The game’s not the same. It’s absolutely not. It can’t be. But it’s what we have to do.”
Brendan Rodgers
“They may not be with us in the stadium but there’ll be millions of people watching… thousands of Leicester City supporters around the world watching.
“So we have a duty to them to do the best we can, whether the stadium is full or whether it is empty — and that’ll be our focus.”
Rodgers accepts home advantage may no longer come into play while the restrictions are in place.
He added: “It takes that away, for sure. Every team loves playing at home.
“We love that whole build-up to a game at the King Power and the fusion between the players and supporters — it makes it a really difficult place for teams to come.
“Of course, if home teams don’t have that, it’s just about the game and puts it on to a level playing field as such.
“It’ll be strange, it’ll be different. But we’ll find ways to cope and we’ll look to get the job done.”
Leicester’s home Cup tie with Chelsea is provisionally set for the last weekend of June, so the squad will have a very busy timetable when football restarts.
Leicester remain in the pot for the FA Cup where they will face Chelsea in the quarter-final
But Rodgers — who had his own battle with Covid-19 — says the Bundesliga has proven the Premier League will still be played at a high standard despite the long break.
He also thinks German football’s return to empty grounds suggests match officials may behave differently when the game resumes here.
Rodgers explained: “Maybe the referees aren’t influenced so much by supporters.
“The intensity and commitment of the players will still be there. I don’t doubt there’s any question that the Premier League will be of high quality because you need to be in top physical condition.
“It’s a league where you can clearly see that, week in, week out.
“If we get back to playing, I’ve got no doubt the games will be of a high level and the physicality of the team will be very good.
“I’ve enjoyed watching Bundesliga — the Borussia Dortmund v Bayern Munich game in particular.
“If ever you’ve seen an advert for footballers, what it meant to them, it was at the end of that game. You saw the Bayern players when they won, you could see and hear what it meant to them.
“I think if you look at the data in the game, the intensity in the performances hasn’t really dropped.
“Once you get two teams playing in that competitive state, that will make the games really competitive.
“The intensity in Germany has been really good and that’s a credit to the players and their focus. Their passion is there. The only thing missing is the supporters.”
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Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
