Good morning everyone.
We are all looking forward to getting to London Stadium for today’s Premier League fixture with Leicester City.
This will be Leicester’s first visit to our new home and I would like to congratulate them on their achievement in winning the title last season.
Since then, of course, Claudio Ranieri has departed and I was very sad at the time, because I thought he was unfortunate to lose his job so soon after guiding them to the championship.
That said, Leicester is a different team from four weeks ago, when they changed manager. They have played extremely well, especially against Sevilla, when they got a great result for them and for English football in general by qualifying for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League.
In the three games they have played, against Liverpool and Hull in the Premier League and against Sevilla, they looked lively and of course those kind of results have given them a massive boost.
Leicester play very simple football. They play like they did last year and also like they did also this season, but in another gear and tempo. Their style is very productive and that got them the title at the end of the day, so it was brilliant.
After a difficult period, they are playing like they finished last season and it is electric. They are in a good moment.
Now they have the momentum and of course they want to continue like that but, apart from the game against Bournemouth, we are also playing good and are expecting a lot from the game today.
Mentioning the Bournemouth defeat, we know we have to improve and we have to bounce back. I am the first who wasn’t happy with that performance and the players know that. They were not happy after the game in the dressing room and they know that we didn’t do well enough in that game.
We played against a good opponent, of course, but when they missed the penalty and we scored the goal, we were basically in the ideal position to build on that early result, and we let it slip away from us. Then we came back and we conceded at the end of the game a very naïve goal from our point of view.
Today’s game is therefore very important for us. We had turned the corner but, as I was saying, it’s not finished because there are so many points and things to fight for between now and the end of the season.
We only have one win in six and this is a good opportunity because we are under pressure and we have to win the game. We believe that we can win the game and we’re going to do everything to win it.
Our international players will help us, of course, and I congratulate all those who have been called-up by their countries for matches over the next two weeks.
We value the support of all our fans and particularly our Season Ticket Holders. I know many of you have already renewed for 2017/18, with prices frozen, so thank you again for your loyal support.
Before I finish, I want to speak about Dylan Tombides. I did not know Dylan but I know his story and it is one of bravery and commitment that is inspiring to us all.
I met Dylan’s mother Tracy again this week and she is an amazing person, with the work she has done to create the DT38 Foundation, which we are raising awareness for today.
I hope Tracy, Dylan’s family and friends and all of you enjoy the game today.
Come on you Irons!
Slaven Bilic
Manager