HomeSoccer'Cooper trying to take positives of last season on board'

‘Cooper trying to take positives of last season on board’


Steve Cooper stands on the touchline

[PA Media]

Tactics analyst Dominic Wells believes he has seen “some philosophies that have remained from Enzo Maresca’s time” during Leicester City‘s early pre-season friendlies under new boss Steve Cooper.

Maresca led the Foxes to the Championship title last season before leaving for Chelsea in June, with ex-Nottingham Forest manager Cooper replacing him.

Speaking on BBC Radio Leicester’s When You’re Smiling podcast, Wells said: “The biggest takeaway for me is how Cooper is trying to play in a similar ilk to Maresca.

“The way he reaches that end output is definitely different and there’s fluidity there, but what I find really interesting is that Cooper is trying to take on board the positives of last season.

“He’s not trying to come in and say ‘we’re going to play my style of football’, he’s trying to adapt to what’s been done in the previous year, which has been a good year of squad building and we’ve got the right profile to play how Maresca wanted to. He’s trying to build on that, instead of saying ‘we’re going to counter-attacking, defensive football now’.”

Ex-Foxes winger Matt Piper added: “It’s the clever thing to do. If you come in and something’s not broken, don’t try to fix it.

“Because of the level these players got to last season and how well they took the systems of Enzo and made them work on the pitch, you don’t want to change too much.

“He’s got to implement his own style and I’m sure he’s doing that. The outcome of where he’s trying to get to is very similar, but it’s quite different in the build-up and the way he’s trying to do it.”

For more in-depth analysis, listen now on BBC Sounds

Enzo Maresca,Steve Cooper,BBC Radio Leicester,Dominic Wells,Leicester City,Chelsea

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