Shakespeare: A Joy To Coach

- The Foxes face Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon (KO 12pm) 

- City sit five points clear of the third-placed Gunners heading into the match 

- Arsenal are one of just two teams to defeat the Foxes in the league this season 

A healthy appetite for hard work and a growing sense of self-belief are what Craig Shakespeare believes are helping Leicester City’s players reach new heights ahead of Sunday’s clash with Arsenal. 

The Barclays Premier League leaders head to Emirates Stadium on Sunday afternoon five points clear of the Gunners in the table as their season continues to go from strength-to-strength. 

Assistant boss Shakespeare is understandably delighted with the team’s achievements on the pitch so far this term but was keen to underline that those successes are underpinned by a relentless work ethic on the training pitch. 

“They’ve been a joy to coach, a joy to work with and long may that continue,” he told Foxes Player HD. “Any coach will tell you that results have a massive bearing on the atmosphere in and around but the group itself is a very hard working and what you see on a Saturday it what you see in training as well. 

“Luckily we’ve been okay with injuries but in terms of patching them up, it’s one of those where the training schedule has stayed the same from the start of the season until now. 

“The players know the sort of things we do in training when we do the tactical stuff and the small-sided games and they get on with it. 

“You can see the enjoyment in their faces. We do a lot of work on the team ethics. We are a team and the individuals play a big part in that. At the moment everything is going well for us.” 

On the back on victories over both Liverpool and Manchester City, confidence is high in the City camp but they face an Arsenal side packed with talent and experience. 

But Shakespeare knows that City’s confidence not only in their individual abilities, but also of what they can achieve as a team is growing by the game and could be a key factor in how they handle the occasion on Sunday. 

He added: “I think people use the word self-belief in football and you can’t describe how big that is. I think from the start of the season you’ve seen the self-belief in the individuals and you’ve seen the self-belief in the group grow. 

“That’s a massive ingredient to have in any footballer but more importantly your team. 

“Arsenal have got some world class players. We know what they’re about. They’ve got some good individuals, they’re up there on merit and it’s a good game to look forward to. 

“Let’s hope it goes in our favour. Obviously they beat us at King Power Stadium earlier in the season but we’re in a good place at the moment so we’re looking forward to the game. 

“There never has been any fear from the start of the season. The group themselves, they’re very together and it’s a game they’re looking forward to.”