Brendan Rodgers hails Leeds United's top-flight return and vows not to make Leicester City mistake

LEICESTER CITY boss Brendan Rodgers is delighted that Leeds United are back in the Premier League and says his Foxes will definitely not underestimate Marcelo Bielsa's Whites in Monday's clash at Elland Road.
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Seven years after Leicester themselves climbed out of the Championship, Leeds are back in big time and Rodgers has hailed both Marcelo Bielsa's work at the club as head coach and United's regained presence in the top division.

Foxes boss Rodgers knows all about adapting to the Premier League with a newly-promoted side having taken Swansea City up as Championship play-offs winners back in 2011.

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Rodgers says that plenty of top-flight teams underestimated his Swans outfit the following campaign in which the Welsh side finished 11th with Rodgers then taking over at Liverpool the following summer.

IMPRESSED: Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers. Photo by Peter Powell/Pool via Getty Images.IMPRESSED: Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers. Photo by Peter Powell/Pool via Getty Images.
IMPRESSED: Leicester City boss Brendan Rodgers. Photo by Peter Powell/Pool via Getty Images.

With his Swans experience in mind, Leicester's now 47-year-old manager says he will be treating Leeds as much more than a merely 'newly-promoted team' in tonight's Premier League showdown at Elland Road.

"I know having taken Swansea up the challenges that you have from being a newly promoted team," said Rodgers at his pre-match press conference to the BBC.

"But it's certainly not a mistake that I will make in terms of knowing a really good promoted term.

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"I felt that when we got promoted with Swansea we were just deemed a team that was coming out of the Championship into the Premier League.

"It wasn't until after games sometimes that teams realised the level of our game.

"We certainly won't make that mistake in our preparation.

"It's one where you see the level that Leeds play at, you see the quality that they have, you see the focus that they have on the game, the mobility and the team and the rotation of the team.

"They are a team that are playing at a really good high level so for us we need to be really concentrated.

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"But we also know there is going to be a lot of space in the game for us and we have got players that we hope can exploit that."

In a wide open division, Leicester approach tonight's contest sat eighth but knowing that a victory would send them second and just a point behind leaders Liverpool.

Leeds, who are 12th, would rocket up to third if recording what would already be a fourth victory back in the top flight.

Hailing United's return to the Premier League - and Bielsa's work in taking the Whites back - Rodgers said: "I was delighted when he came to Leeds.

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"Leeds are a great club with a great tradition here in the British game and they have been out of the Premier League for such a long time.

"For him to go in, it didn't quite work out in his first year but in his second year he got them over the line.

"His style and experience and qualities would always then shine through in the Premier League and they have come in and been outstanding. It will be a tough game for us."

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Thank you Laura Collins

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