Steve Cooper Highlights Key Leicester City Group as Transfer Strategy Shapes Team Identity

Leicester City’s search for their first Premier League victory of the season became the main focus of Steve Cooper’s press conference this week, overshadowing even the PSR appeal victory.

With the team still winless, but facing another side in the same position this weekend, the conversation naturally shifted toward when they would secure their first three points.

Despite the slow start, Cooper made it clear that Leicester City is not in crisis.

Six other teams are also yet to win, and the manager redirected the discussion toward the importance of performances and the team’s identity, which he believes are the building blocks for achieving wins.

“Results are the name of the game,” Cooper said, “But you can’t be narrow-minded enough to not see beyond the results as well.”

Cooper emphasized the importance of both players and staff sticking to the team’s blueprint.

Interestingly, he highlighted the key role that senior players have in solidifying the club’s identity and steering the team in the right direction.

Leicester already had several experienced players with Premier League know-how even before targeting more of those types during the summer transfer window.

It’s often said that newly-promoted clubs lack the experience needed to compete at the top level, but that is not the case at Leicester, largely due to Cooper’s approach in the transfer market.

Now, Cooper is looking to these senior players to take on his ideas and implement his plans on the pitch. If they do, the rest of the squad will follow.

He seems to understand the power of peer influence, recognizing that the senior players may have more sway within the squad than even he does.

By convincing these experienced leaders, Cooper believes he can bring the rest of the team on board with his vision.

“We’re still going through a natural transition,” Cooper said, “particularly with players signing late in the window, and getting back into the Premier League with a change in coach as well.

We’re trying to implement what we want to be as a team in the Premier League, and getting the senior players to drive it and embrace the challenge I’m putting on them.”

Cooper acknowledged that while they have seen positive signs in their identity as a team, there are still areas that need improvement.

He issued a challenge to his players, particularly the senior ones, to take what they’ve worked on in training and apply it on the pitch during matches.

“We can definitely improve results,” he continued.

“We could have gotten more points. The last thing we want is to be applauded for a good performance but come away with no points.

We know there were positives, but we want results.

We have to own that—the staff and the players, especially the senior players—and we believe we can do that.”

In Cooper’s view, the key to turning Leicester’s season around lies in the leadership of his senior players and their ability to lead the rest of the squad in embracing his vision.