Phil Sumbler
Leicester City goalkeeper Mads Hermansen believes that the Foxes will need to perform at the highest level this afternoon if they are to continue their winning streak at the expense of the Swans own run of four straight wins.
The goalkeeper, signed for Leicester in the summer, believes that the Swans will prove to be a tough test for the table topping team who arrive in SA1 with ten wins in their eleven league games to date and with six straight wins in the last round of mini fixtures.
It is quite the start for the side who were relegated from the Premier League in May having won the league title, FA Cup and Community Shield all in the last seven years prior to relegation. An instant return would have been very high on the agenda for new manager Enzo Maresca who signed on in the East Midlands in the summer having joined from treble winners Manchester City.
Of course with a Manchester City background in the managers blood it is little wonder that the keeper is tasked in playing the ball out from the back and last month he said “He gives me a lot of responsibility and I really appreciate that,” said Hermansen.
“I like to try to dictate the game. As a lot of teams do, they leave me open and play man-to-man with the rest of the guys, so it’s up to me to find these smaller passes, to try to move things around and create these spaces.
“We work on it every day and we improve every game.”
Those comments were made with Leicester in 2nd place in the league but four more wins have propelled them to the top of the table and setting the early season pace along with Ipswich who are close on their tails just two points behind in second place.
Hermansen is glad to be back from the international break that has preceded this game “It’s sometimes good to get away and now to get back, we all love being here,” the keeper told lcfc.com on Friday. “We’ve got some fresh energy, had some good resting days and we’re ready to go on.
“The mood has been very good since I came here, even before the season started. We’re all in a good place and working in the same direction so we need to keep on going and keep on developing as a team.”
Looking ahead to the clash this afternoon though the keeper was in no doubt that development would still need them to be at their best to face the Swans “The games are fantastic to play in, with a great atmosphere every time,” Hermansen expressed. “We know they had a tough start to the season and changed their formation and style of play.
“After that, they won their last four games, so it’s also a team in form and we have to deliver at the highest level to be able to win, but it’s nothing we haven’t played before, system-wise, so we have to find the right solutions.”
The game at the Swansea.com Stadium kicks off at 3pm.
