Mark Warburton has revealed details about the role he has played in Leicester’s surge to the top of the Premier League.
Never slow to name drop the former Brentford supremo is currently studying for his UEFA Pro Licence having given up a lucrative career as a city trader to drive the bus for Watford’s youth team.
Claudio Ranieri’s side have taken the Premier League by storm with last week’s 3-1 win at Manchester City taking them five points clear at the top of the table and being installed as favourites for the title.
“I know the first-team coach Craig Shakespeare who was on my course with me,” the modest Sevco boss explained. “He’s a great guy and does a fantastic job.
“Jon Rudkin the Academy Manager is now their Technical Director and does a fantastic job there as well. So I’m delighted for Leicester and there’s a lot to be learned.
“You look at the way they finished last season, they were doomed and had a tremendous run to avoid relegation and they’ve maintained that momentum and they’ve hit the ground running.”
Warbo spent a season as a youth team player at Leicester before being axed by Jock Wallace but has followed the club avidly from afar.
Looking ahead at their title prospects the stats obsessed Ibrox boss picked up on an important element that many have overlooked.
“Leicester aren’t involved in Europe for example so I was looking the other day at the number of games they have between now and the end of the season and I think it’s a game every 8.4 days or 8.5 days,” Warbs explained to the Sevco website
“Teams like Liverpool have got 25 or 26 games so the loading on their players and the demands on their squad is significantly higher. So I think that has been a big part of it.
“Leicester have really used their time well, their rest and recover has been well structured, the support team around the first team is obviously first class in terms of medical and conditioning.
“They’ve got the nutrition right, they’ve got the bonding right with the players, so I think it’s more basic. I don’t think it’s about formation, I think it’s more about getting the loading right with the players and getting that correct.
“We do something very similar here, we talk to the players about the loading and it’s about getting the loading right.”
Whether it’s 8.4 or 8.5 days it seems like the destiny of the Premier League will be decided by whichever club gets the loading right.
