London (AFP) – Brendan Rodgers has insisted Leicester’s recent loss to Premier League champions Manchester City was just a “bump in the road” as they prepare for the visit of leaders Liverpool.
Second-placed Leicester are 10 points adrift of Liverpool following a 3-1 defeat by City — their first loss since October.
Liverpool, bidding for their first English title in 30 years, have yet to lose in the Premier League this season and will kick-off on the back of victory in the Club World Cup final.
Leicester, however, pushed Liverpool all the way before going 2-1 at Anfield thanks to James Milner’s disputed late penalty and then went on to win their next eight games.
“We have a fantastic resilience and we’ve shown that in a number of months but when you lose a game it’s always difficult,” said Leicester manager Rodgers.
“It’s my job as the leader to ensure it doesn’t get the players too down. We’re a humble group, we want to be better and we understand part of that development is you are going to lose games.”
The former Liverpool boss added: “That’ll happen, it’s a case of reflecting on it. We always believe in the process but when there’s a bump in the road we never get too down about it.
“We’re thinking about bringing a performance to the game which can get us three points.
“Our objectives are very much the same, we want to continue developing as a team and we still have a lot more to do to get to the level we want to be.”
Meanwhile Rodgers played down suggestions Liverpool would be tired as a result of travelling back from Qatar, where they beat Flamengo 1-0 on Saturday to win a first Club World Cup title.
“It is a fantastic achievement, it’s a great status to have so very well done to them,” said the Foxes boss.
“We’re at home, we want to bring our true game — we know it’s going to be difficult but it’ll be a great test for us.
“They will come back on a high and will continue with the work they’ve shown in the last couple of years.”
