Survival First: Danny Simpson Urges Leicester City to Prioritise Stability in the Premier League
Former Premier League winner Danny Simpson emphasizes the importance of stability for Leicester City this season. With experienced players and a new manager in Steve Cooper, he urges fans to be patient as the club readjusts to the top flight.
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Premier League winner Danny Simpson has stressed survival should be former club Leicester City’s main objective this season.
Premier League Experience Vital for Stability
The title-winning former Foxes defender is adamant those players with Premier League experience having a pivotal role to play in helping the club achieve stability in the top-flight this term.
“You’ve got a core nucleus of Premier League players, which will be massive this season,” Simpson told SportsBoom.com.
“There’s still a good core of players who know this league. They’re the ones the club are going to have to rely on heavily to help some of the new lads starting out.”
There’s players in that Leicester dressing room who have played in the Premier League many, many times, which is a big help.
Danny Simpson
New Manager, New Challenges
“It’s a new manager (Steve Cooper) at the end of the day and he’s still learning about his players, so it’s going to take time.”
“It’s about keeping players fit and giving them time this season, but hopefully they can produce this season.”
Key Players in Defence and Midfield
“You look at Ricardo (Pereira) and James Justin at the back, then you’ve Conor Coady and his experience.”
“And then you’ve got Wout Faes, for me he was Leicester’s best player when he first signed for the club for a couple of months.”
“He’s got Premier League experience and is an experienced Belgium international, so there’s real pedigree.”
Then you look midfield-wise and they’ve managed to keep Wilfred Ndidi and Harry Winks, these are two players who have played over 100 games in the Premier League.
Danny Simpson
Loss of Leaders and Impact Players
“Yes, they’ve lost good players like (Marc) Albrighton – they’ll miss his leadership – and (Kelechi) Iheanacho, he always scored goals even though we was never a regular player.”
“Obviously they’re Kiernan (Dewsbury-Hall) is obviously going to be a really big miss.”
“I don’t know whether that move was down to the FFP (Financial Fair Play) rules, but surely they would have liked to have kept him because he’s been their best player.”
Simpson played in the famous Foxes’ side which won the Premier League as 5000-1 outsiders in the 2015-16 season under Italian boss Claudio Ranieri.
Patience Needed from Loyal Fans
With over a decade of Premier League experience under his belt, the 37-year-old former right-back has also stressed the need to patience this season from the club’s loyal supporters as the club look to acclimatise to life back in the big time.
“I think the fans have to be patient, just look what he (Cooper) had to deal with at Nottingham Forest,” added Simpson.
“They signed 25 plus recruits, so that wouldn’t have been easy, would it?”
He’s at a club that is generally run quite well, and he’ll probably feel a lot more settled than he did at Nottingham Forest.
Danny Simpson
Cooper's Potential for Success
“He should be feeling in a good place, at a great club, with great fans and with great facilities. Everything is in place for him to be successful.”
“I think the manager has been pretty open and come out and said they need some more signings.”
“If he can get a couple more bodies in this season then I’m sure he’ll feel like he can do a good job.”
“I don’t see why he can’t if he can get a couple of deals over the line in the next window.”
“But it’s not like they’re a Championship team like Luton, respectively, who got promoted and didn’t have much experience.”
Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.