Brendan Rodgers vows Leicester will respond following Europa League exit
Boss Brendan Rodgers vowed Leicester will respond after their limp Europa League exit.
The Foxes lost 2-0 to Slavia Prague to crash out of the tournament on Thursday and host Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday.
The second-leg defeat continued Rodgers’ frustrations in the competition having now failed to reach the last 16 in five attempts.
Leicester sit third in the Premier League ahead of the Gunners’ visit and Rodgers expects his players to recover from defeat to Slavia quickly.
He said: “They won’t be (feeling sorry for themselves), it’s the environment we have created here. One of the key attributes of this group is how we respond.
“We don’t dwell on the disappointment. That has shown in our results. You have to look forward and get ready for the next game.
“The time Sunday comes we will be ready and focused.
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“For us, the disappointment was the game came at the wrong time for us, where the squad is at in terms of the injuries. We don’t have the depth some of the others have. My players have done brilliantly.
“We have been able to get on with it, the games in the Europa League just came at the wrong time with so many key players missing.
“We’ll learn and hopefully next year we’ll arrive in European competition and take the next step. Let’s see if we can improve on that.”
James Maddison is likely to be out for a number of weeks with a hip problem while James Justin (knee), Ayoze Perez (knee), Wes Morgan (back), Dennis Praet (hamstring) and Wesley Fofana (hamstring) are out.
Rodgers also celebrates two years in charge of the Foxes on Friday having won 50 of his 95 of his games in charge.
He added: “(It’s been) very enjoyable. I left a great club in Celtic to come here for the challenge of looking to establish Leicester as a team who could compete for the top places. I’ve had amazing support from the players.
“It’s about convincing the players to play how you want them to and create a working environment which creates a standard and mentality.
“It has flown by, it doesn’t feel like that but I’m really happy with how we have worked and excited about the future of the club.”
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