Mark Hughes Speaks To The Media Ahead Of Leicester game Thursday, 23rd Aug 2018 15:52 Mark Hughes has given his thoughts to the media at the pre match press confernece ahead of the visit of Claude Puel's Leicester City side to St Mary's. On the defeat at Everton Hughes felt there was room for improvement and that he was nearer knowing his best XI. "We had a disappointing result. It's always difficult going to Everton, they're a very accomplished side at home, with a new manager in his first home game, but apart from a couple of defensive lapses which damaged us I thought it was an ok performance. There were elements that needed to be better and I'm hoping and expecting those elements will improve in our third game." "I've got an idea of that. At this stage of the season there's still a few vagaries in terms of guys who have come back late from World Cup who've had disrupted pre-seasons, so there's still a levelling off in terms of what people are producing and capable of. I think that will resolve itself in the next couple of weeks." Looking at the Leicester City fixture at the weekend Hughes had this to say. "Leicester are probably the club that gain more points on the road than most. They're a very accomplished counter-attacking team and it's very difficult to go up against them. You want to be on the front foot, but you've always got to be mindful of the threat they have on the break" "You would imagine that Jamie Vardy would be a bonus for us, but they have good resources. He's been there a long time and is a big part of how they play, but they've got guys who can come in and affect the game in similar ways." Hughes did have some good news on the injury front though, although he didn't mention the absence of Jannik Vestergaard at Everton, so we can aonly assume that he is now available. "Moi Elyounoussi has trained today, so we're hopeful he can be an option for us. Obviously, he needs to have a good day tomorrow in terms of no reaction from the work he's done today." Hughes also praised Danny Ings after his first couple of weeks at the club. "He's a goalscorer. He's a technical player as well, who can link the play between the lines, and that's something we need to be better at." On the possibility of loaning out more young players before the full window closes Hughes has this to say. "There's been a number of enquiries to us from Championship clubs in regard to our young players. Some may go through. We'll have to see what develops. It's just whether we feel it's the right club at the right time for these young guys' circumstances." Photo: Action Images Please report offensive, libellous or inappropriate posts by using the links provided.
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