Dean Smith ‘disagrees’ with match schedule but insists Leicester ‘will look after’

Dean Smith ‘disagrees’ with match schedule but insists Leicester ‘will look after’


Dean Smith believes the Premier League fixture list puts pressure on Leicester City in the race for survival.

The Foxes play their next four games on Monday nights, starting with the visit of relegation rivals Everton on 1 May.

Then they go to Fulham, due to the king’s coronation, host Liverpool and travel to Newcastle while they have to wait to see if other results go against them.

They have slipped back into the bottom three of the Premier League this week and Smith believes the course of the fixtures is not right, with the Foxes already one point from safety.

«I’m not so sure I agree with the scheduling when you have a lot of big games and there are a lot of teams that are involved to get out of a relegation battle,» said the Leicester manager.

“Playing after everyone is not good, personally, with programming. It is what it is and we take care of it.

“I don’t think you have any choice, once the broadcasters have chosen which games to broadcast, unfortunately you are stuck.

“It’s just a little strange that we’re playing four Monday night games per tour.

“Yes (add pressure), because the table can look very different after some games and you have to react to that, I suppose, in some games.

«We can’t help it, all we can do is focus on ourselves and try to get victories, especially at home.»

Meanwhile, Kelechi Iheanacho faces a race to be fit for Leicester’s survival run-in.

The striker picked up a groin injury in Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with Leeds and could miss the last five games.

Iheanacho scored twice in Smith’s first three games and was injured helping set up Jamie Vardy’s equalizer at Elland Road.

There is hope he will recover in time to play a part in the battle to beat the drop, with the Foxes dropping back into the bottom three ahead of Everton’s visit.

Smith said: “He’s not great, he has a tear in his adductor muscle. It’s quite significant. I won’t rule him out for the rest of the season, but he’s going to be hard to get back. We hope we can.

“He’s disappointed, he scored two goals and was putting in good performances. As always, he offers opportunities for others.

“It’s a huge blow, he came on at half-time against Man City and has always done so well. He did well in the Wolves game, he scored the penalty and his all-round performance was really good.

Jonny Evans is expected to return to training on Saturday but Ricardo Pereira is out with a hamstring injury.

READ MORE: Big Weekend: Liverpool v Spurs, Emery’s Villa at Man Utd, Leeds up six points, Jamie Vardy



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