Steve Cooper spoke of his excitement to begin work at Leicester City following his appointment as First Team Manager this week.
The former England Under-17s, Swansea City and Nottingham Forest head coach takes charge of the Foxes as the Club re-enter the Premier League, having signed a three-year contract at King Power Stadium on Thursday.
He believes that a period of time away from the game has enabled him to reset and come back refreshed for the season ahead, with a clear objective to achieve positive results from the off.
“I’m really excited, it’s a brilliant challenge,” Cooper commented from King Power Stadium, in his first sit-down interview as Foxes Manager. “It’s something I really can’t wait to get going with. I’m absolutely motivated for my next challenge, which I’m lucky enough to say is at Leicester City.
“My next chapter was one that I knew had to be right and in my gut I really needed to feel was the right thing and this feels all of those things to me. In the end, it’s about the job that you do, how the teams plays, the results that you get and the way that you go about it.
“That is the nature of the game and our game. Of course, you want to do it in a certain way and you want to do it within what a club stands for. It’s the same for any manager. For me, that’s my challenge here now and I’m so committed to show the best of me for this Football Club, hoping that we can have some success together.
“I’m in a personal position where I’m really hungry and motivated and I’m just really glad that I’ve got this challenge. My next challenge is going to be a really important one and to get it at a club like this is something that I can’t wait to get going with.”
Cooper aims to continue building the bond between the Club and supporters, which he feels, from watching from afar, was strengthened through gaining promotion back to the Premier League.
The Welshman explained: “I’m really excited to get into the depths of this Football Club and understanding what it means and I take that aspect really importantly. But it’s all with the idea of winning games in a way that the supporters can really identify with.
“Whatever club you’re at, that is the objective, but I know that’s a really important one here and one that I’m really committed to. I watched more or less every Leicester City game from last season. I’ve really gone for that over the last month or so. I’ve seen the atmospheres and the numbers of supporters.
“I should say, a real congratulations for last season, for everybody involved – the players and the management staff and the executive team, the ownership, of course, and the supporters for really sticking together and making that important step back up. That is not an easy one – I know that first hand.
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“So, to think that the Club has shown that mentality to come back up as they did, is a really good sign of what can be done when you stick together. And we need to continue that, there’s no doubt about it.
“It’s quite common that a team can go up a league and continue to progress and I really hope that can be the case next season. You have to understand the context of the challenge that you are going into. Personally, the biggest step is Championship to Premier League, there’s no doubt about that.”
Cooper has previously been in the same position of leading a newly promoted side back into the top-flight and the plan is to carry though the momentum which has been built up, when pre-season begins in July.
Identifying the challenges that lie ahead, while also acknowledging the level of talent within the group, he continued: “I have that experience of coming back into the Premier League and obviously this is a Premier League Football Club in every way, shape and form.
“It lost its status for one season, managed to get back straight away, which is a really impressive achievement, but now it’s about re-establishing ourselves back to the level. And what’s good is that there are so many people here who have seen both levels and there is a big difference.
“We’ve got to work really hard now in getting back to Premier League level and hitting the ground running when the season starts. The lads will be well rested and that’s great after a tough Championship year, but we’ve really got to get the most out of them in pre-season in how we want to play and how we want to build on last season, while knowing that it is a completely different challenge in the Premier League.
“We need to get ready for it in our way and that’s my objective as the coach and the coaching team and the players. When we get it right and we will and you see the best of us, I’m sure that the fans will be able to identify that this is an exciting Leicester City team and that is something that is really important to me.
“My passion has always been coaching and trying to put all the right exercises and game plans and programme for the players to help them thrive. In a football programme, the most important thing is the players, they always come first.
“As coaches, you need to try and guide and support them and put them in the right headspace to deliver and go and be themselves and give the best of themselves. If you do that in a real team way, and within a way that is associated with this Football Club in Leicester City, then that’s a powerful thing. But it’s going to take a lot of hard work and that’s something I’m really looking forward to.
“I’ve spent so much time studying the team and the squad and the infrastructure and the history. All of that is getting to know and reading, but what you really want to do is get your hands dirty in doing the best job possible for the Football Club and that starts with when the players come back.
“I’ve made some initial phone calls to some of the players and I’ll get round them, but it’s important that they have a rest as well. We’re coming to the back end of June and I know the season finished quite early because of the automatic promotion, which is great.
“The Premier League is starting a little bit later than normal, but we’ll have a strong pre-season programme in place. What is great about the players and the staff that I’ve spoken to so far is that they’re just really hungry to get going again next year.
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“Whatever level you are at, hard work and good intentions and a winning mentality are really important and I’m really getting that sense from everyone that I am speaking to, so that’s a really exciting sign.
“We’ve got a lot of talent, a lot of character, a lot of good attributes in the squad already. With the right additions that the Club are working together in trying to bring in, we’ll give ourselves the best chance of reaching the objectives that we’ll set for next season.”
With a history of developing young players at the Club, it’s a trait that Cooper is keen to continue, having seen the strengths of City’s Academy set-up in Seagrave, also recognising the importance of the collective – players, supporters and staff – in being successful.
He feels acquiring a broad understanding of the culture within the Club is a key aspect and immersing himself in the community at LCFC will be of significant importance.
He explained: “Homegrown academy players are always an important factor but every player is important and every staff member is important. The supporters are important. If we can have a good mix of everything that can contribute to a winning team, then that’s what we really want.
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“To do that you have to get to know each other and get to know their stories and how important this job is to them. I’m looking forward to telling the players how excited I am to do the best job possible here because I don’t take the responsibility and the faith shown in me lightly.
“I’ve had some really good conversations with the Chairman and Jon [Rudkin] over the last few weeks and it’s an atmosphere and a relationship that I’ve really enjoyed being in so far and I know that is something that is very prominent at the training ground and we need to make sure that goes onto the pitch and then through to the stadium. If we do that, we more than give ourselves a chance.
“The training ground is incredible, the stadium is beautiful. It’s nice to drive through the city with a different mindset and that’s really important to me. There’s been some incredible commitment from so many people, none more so than the ownership and I could feel that when I spoke to the Chairman on a number of occasions.
“To see his passion for the Club, you can see how it really runs through. He’s had some really good rewards and some real highs. It’s a real commitment going forwards from me and some of the others who will be joining me and the guys who are already here, to try and continue to progress.
“There was progression last year after coming into the league, let’s try and keep building and I’d love in time to have more success here.”