Nampalys Mendy was handed a rare start in Leicester City’s Premier League win over West Ham at the Olympic Stadium on Saturday evening. The former Monaco star has seen just 70 minutes of action this season with 69 of it coming in the win against Hammers on Saturday.
Speaking after the match to the Lcfc Tv, Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers praised the performance of Mendy, saying he has found it difficult this season due to the form of Wilfred Ndidi.
Ndidi has been one of Leicester City’s best players this season and has established himself as one of the top defensive midfielders in the world.
“Over the course of the last four weeks, we’ve tried to organise some of the players like Papy [Mendy].
“He’s played in the Under-23s games. We’ve played behind-closed-doors games to look to try to prepare the players so they weren’t coming fresh in, but it’s still very difficult for them to do that.
“The likes of Papy, it’s purely because of how we play, he hasn’t been involved hardly at all because of the form of Wilf Ndidi.
“He came in and he was absolutely outstanding. Lots of those players have come in, showed a great mentality, they showed the honesty in the group, and they got the three points.”
Kelechi Iheanacho and Demarai Gray scored the goals that secured Leicester City the victory. It was a win that delighted Rodgers who had seen his side go three league games without a win before Saturday.
“It’s a really good feeling,” the Northern Irishman said. “We’ve been used to winning. The last couple of games have been really tough games for us.
“We were playing against two super teams at the very top of the world game, so that’s not really our measure at this stage.
“I said to the players beforehand that in this sport, football at the top level, you’ve got to be at your maximum. They showed that mentality.
“You’ve got to have that edge and I thought we had that today in terms of our energy and attitude in the game, considering so many of the players that we brought into the squad.
“So, I’m so happy for them. They get a great reward. It’s been hard for them, especially after the last game and then quickly to turnaround, but they came here and played very, very well.”
The Foxes remain in second place with the win, ten points behind Liverpool who have two games in hand, and four points ahead of Manchester City who have a game in hand.