THE HOUSE THAT BRENDAN BUILT
“DON’T GET TOO CLOSE…”
FourFourTwo is pitchside at Leicester City’s King Power Stadium, where moody darkness and a swirl of lifeless mist make today’s photo shoot a haunting one. But there’s nothing scary about our subject, whose early warning is supposedly for our benefit. “Rough-looking Irishman,” smiles Brendan Rodgers, while attempting to pull off a surprisingly tricky facial expression at our snapper’s behest; a peculiar side-on glance that even the pros struggle to get right. Apparently, he’s a natural. “Now let’s bring a bit of flair into these,” grins Rodgers. He’s getting into it.
It’s bitterly cold, however, and we’re glad when the Leicester manager ushers us into the confines of a warm dressing room to dissect another remarkable year for man and club. There is plenty to discuss: although Rodgers has been the Foxes’ boss for less than nine months by the time we meet, a sharp upturn over the summer means the East Midlanders are outstanding top-four contenders again, four seasons after shocking the world with their Premier League title victory of 2015-16. That, and joint-holders of the Premier League’s all-time record win following their 9-0 shellacking of Southampton in October.
Before we begin, though, Rodgers talks us through a new addition to the Foxes’ dressing room – a circular light installation on the ceiling that features the words ‘respect’, ‘courage’, ‘unity’ and ‘responsibility’, circled around the initials ‘VS’ in tribute to late owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. The players specifically asked for that part, says Rodgers. “It starts with respect here,” he adds, pointing down at the corresponding word which is mirrored on the floor. The rest, in theory, will follow.
Pleasingly for Rodgers, it has at Leicester – and quickly. He rolled the dice to leave a treble-treble-bound Celtic and return south of the border in late February, joining a club in
