Cooper on Choudhury injury, ambitions and facing criticism

Posted by Admin October 3, 2024 Football

Leicester City boss Steve Cooper has been speaking to the media before Saturday’s Premier League game against Bournemouth (15:00 BST).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

Hamza Choudhury has dislocated his shoulder in training. The club are still working out the extent of the injury, but he expects the midfielder to be out for “a little while”.
Meanwhile, Jannik Vestergaard has returned to training after recovering from an ankle problem. A few players – who Cooper did not name – have picked up knocks but he hopes they will be available for this weekend.
The Foxes “need a result” before the international break, after failing to pick up a win in their first six Premier League games: “That is what we want. We are in a world where results dictate so many things. We really want to get the right result going into the international break.”
He emphasised the “present ambition” at the club, adding that “mentality is key” in their current situation: “In Premier League football, there is always an opportunity. For us now, that opportunity is to get our first win, get some good results and climb up the table.”
Cooper added he is “desperate” for the supporters to see the team “win and play well in the process”, but accepted it is his “responsibility” to make that happen.
He emphasised criticism motivates him after coming under fire from some Leicester fans: “I certainly don’t hide away from it. I will always make sure I’m more visible, more vocal and more upfront than maybe when things are going well. I think that is the role of a leader and a manager, so that is what I want to be.”
He sent a message to the supporters that will be at King Power Stadium this weekend: “It’s about continuing to get behind the team, as they already have done. Any criticism has come towards me, not the players, and that is how I would prefer it. The atmosphere really pulled us through against Tottenham and Everton, so we need that because I really saw the players respond to it.”
On what he expects from Andoni Iraola’s side: “They have dangerous players at the top end of the pitch and a clear way of playing. We are ready for a very energetic team, which is what they are. They are clear in how they play and very dangerous with it.”
On Bournemouth’s form last season, after it took them 10 games to get their first league win and they still went on to finish 12th: “Unless you’re finishing seventh, eighth or above, everybody goes through a spell of not getting a lot of points. If ours is now, I hope it is coming to an end. We have got to look forward and look positively, with motivation and ambition.”