Cooper on Skipp, Vardy fitness and strengthening the squad
Leicester City boss Steve Cooper has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Fulham (kick-off 15:00 BST).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
Cooper said new signing Oliver Skipp is available to face Fulham and added: "He is a good young player, he has plenty of games under his belt in the Premier League. We have nice variety and balance of midfield options... I believe Skippy offers a calming influence in midfield and we look forward to introducing him into the system."
On keeping striker Jamie Vardy fit: "Jamie doesn't need any special words from me on capabilities and impact he can have and talent he has around the box. Keeping him fresh for games is going to be important. He is an older player now with his age; as they get older they understand their bodies well and know what is needed to prepare for games. It is important we work with him collaboratively to get him ready for games."
On players they are being linked with: "Everybody. We are being linked with everybody. But, no names to mention. We want to strengthen the squad. We want to keep a lot [of momentum] going from last year and part of that is adding and strengthening and we will look to do that with a week to go."
Adding to their forward line is "definitely" an area Leicester want to strengthen but it "might not be done in this window, but one we will look at".
Cooper said "there were a lot of learnings" from the draw with Tottenham, adding: "There were players making Premier League debuts and club debuts and all of that can show. We needed to be a lot braver in the second half, and that's on all of us, but we played with ambition and intent in the second half."
On facing Fulham: "They're always a well set-up team with a clear way of playing and we're going up against a team that have, mostly, been together for a while so we will be aware of that. But we are mostly focusing on ourselves and establishing ourselves back in the Premier League."
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