Kasper Schmeichel revelling in Leicester’s Premier League title charge: Fighting relegation last season was real pressure… this is just great

Leicester are seven points clear at the summit of the Premier League table
The Foxes were seven points from safety 12 months ago
Claudio Ranieri’s side face Sunday at Stadium of Light on Sunday

Published:
23:36 GMT, 5 April 2016

|
Updated:
23:37 GMT, 5 April 2016

View
comments

Kasper Schmeichel has insisted Leicester players are enjoying their pursuit of the Premier League title because the stakes were higher last season, when failing the fight against relegation would have resulted in jobs being lost.

Leicester were seven points from safety 12 months ago, but rallied to survive and now look down on the rest of the division with a seven-point gap to second-place Tottenham.

Despite the prospect of an historic championship, Schmeichel says he and his team-mates are not feeling a hint of pressure.

Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel (centre) celebrates after his side’s victory against Southampton

‘This is great,’ he said. ‘The pressure was last season when you’re backs are to the wall, you’re fighting for your lives. Relegation means everything to a club, to a city, to a whole community.

‘People lose their jobs. That would have been catastrophic for us. That was real pressure. This is just great. We are enjoying this.’

The Danish goalkeeper is adamant that the squad are looking no further that Sunday’s trip to Sunderland, ignoring the thought that four more wins from six games would guarantee the Premier League crown.

Schmeichel (left) and his Foxes side are just four more wins away from claiming the Premier League title

‘Granted it was in another league but we’ve done this before,’ he said. ‘We’ve done it in the Championship (in 2013-14). A lot of us were there in that period, we know what it’s like.

‘It is a different level this time but it is the same type of thing. You have to take one game at a time. If we start looking ahead to after Sunderland we are not going to put our full focus on Sunderland, which we need to do. That’s a tough, tough game.’

Schmeichel, 29, has been exemplary this season and has kept 10 clean sheets in his last 14 Premier League games, while also providing quick balls upfield to start counter-attacks.

Leicester skipper Wes Morgan races away to celebrate after his crucial strike against the Saints last weekend

‘We defend as a team, we are tough to break down. They are an absolute privilege to play behind, those boys,’ he said. ‘They throw their bodies in the way of everything and give us the best opportunity to go and win games. Building a good foundation with clean sheets is obviously a great start.’

He added: ‘Distribution is something I have always practised. We have players in this team with so much pace so it is a good thing to have.

‘You try your best. You listen to your defenders, your midfielders, what they need. Sometimes in the heat they might need a breather every now and again. But when the gaps open up I try to find them because of the speed we have up front.’

Schmeichel, who can follow in father Peter’s footsteps by winning the title, is happy to do so with as many 1-0 results as required. ‘We take that all day long,’ he said. ‘No matter where you are in the Premier League, every win is massive.’