Leicester City v Hull City: Goalkeepers’ attitudes make Liam Rosenior feel he has made a good shout in Ryan Allsop
A Championship trip to 100 per cent Leicester City will test that, but Rosenior says there is no guarantee Ryan Allsop, (pictured), will be thrown straight into the fray after signing from Cardiff City.
That is because he wants a culture where no one is guaranteed a place, and everyone is expected to help each other. With that in mind, Matt Ingram has been trying to keep the rivalry friendly.
“There is not one player I’ve signed who’s guaranteed to play in this team, you earn it on the training pitch,” insists coach Rosenior. “If you give guarantees to one player you lose the respect of the group.
“I’m really happy with Matt Ingram’s performances but he knows he’s got a really good goalkeeper pushing him every day who wants his place in the team.
“In training on Thursday Ryan would make a save and Matty would be at the other end of the pitch saying, ‘Great save, Ryan.’ Matty’s making a save and Ryan’s shouting, ‘Great save, Matty.'”
Hull have been quite open in their summer-long pursuit of a goalkeeper – Karl Darlow was top of their list having impressed on loan last season but joined Leeds United instead
But Rosenior is at pains to point out it was not down to reservations about Ingram, rather a desire to have two goalkeepers of similar ability pushing each other.
“I’ve got no understanding of goalkeeping whatsoever, that’s why I leave it to Baz (Richardson, the goalkeeping coach),” said Rosenior. “You play football in front of 30,000 people and if you make one mistake you’re the fall guy so you’ve got to be a bit special in the head to do it.
“I’m really pleased I’ve got two special goalkeepers here with brilliant Championship experience and they’re going to bring the best out of each other.”
In line with modern thinking, Allsop’s footwork seems almost as important to his new coach as his glovework.
“It’s so funny when a new player comes in – it happened to me – everyone judges you,” says Rosenior. “The players are pretty confident now in terms of why we signed him.
“He’s got extreme talent now in terms of his build-up play, his calmness in possession and he’s going to give us a lot moving forward.”
Leicester have shrugged off relegation with four Championship wins out of four under new coach Enzo Maresca, so Rosenior should learn a bit more about his team’s play-off aspirations today.
“They have a clear idea in the way they want to play which Enzo has instilled in them in a very short space of time,” says the former defender of the Foxes. “They’re a top team, a nice easy one for us!
“I don’t think anyone’s going to say we’re favourites for the game the pressure’s on them. It’s up to us to go and enjoy the occasion.”
Turkey forward Ozan Tufan is set to miss out through injury.
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