Leicester City go to relegation rivals Portsmouth sitting five points adrift of safety, knowing a victory is crucial if they want to stay in the Championship for next season
Gary Rowett during his Leicester City press conference before the trip to Portsmouth(Image: Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
Leicester City have to believe they can achieve “something special” this season as they head into a season-defining clash at Portsmouth.
City go to Fratton Park on Saturday sitting five points adrift of safety and battling to avoid what would be the club’s second-ever relegation to the third tier.
They were expected to be competing towards the top of the division this season, and so staying up would not be seen as a successful campaign.
However, City are, internally, framing their fight for survival as a potential achievement, with an unnamed player addressing the squad to say a “special” end to the season is possible.
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Rowett would not divulge who gave the speech to the team, but feels belief is integral to the relegation fight.
“If you can achieve something that’s been hard to do, it’s going to be more rewarding,” the manager said.
“One of the players stood up in a meeting recently and spoke about us having an opportunity to do something special at the end of the season.
“It won’t be quite what everyone felt like we were going to do, but there’s still that opportunity. We have to feel that chance. If you don’t believe you can do it, you’re simply not going to do it.
“But that’s a little bit away yet. It’s one step at a time, which is the game at the weekend. We’ve got to go and perform.”
After the defeat to Swansea last weekend, Rowett said he’d spoken to the players about the wide-ranging impact of the club falling into League One.
He’s done that through the week too, although admits he’s not needed to go to extreme measures to hammer home his message.
“I don’t think getting the tea lady crying in front of the players is necessarily going to have the desired effect,” he said. “The players understand the importance of the moment.
“You’re trying to give the players the enormity of the situation. It might not affect you as a player, that’s a reality, it might not affect you as a member of staff, but what it might do is affect a lot of people at the club and the fans.
“The fans pay their hard-earned money and have got behind the team brilliantly well in a tough season and a tough period for the club. We’ve got to give them more.”
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