Chatting with Marc Albrighton: Leicester’s Mr Nice
A chance for one of The Fosse Way to sit down and talk to a current Leicester player and legend? Yes please. And it’s Marc Albrighton, one of the nicest guys in the game? Even better.
Charlie Carmichael had a chat in the talkSPORT office with the man who’s seen a lot in his ten years, and is hoping to add another trophy to the list.
CC: Right, so first off, how are you?
MA: Yeah, very good. Hectic after the train ride but good.
CC: The first thing I wanted to ask is every single time that Leicester, Enzo, or whoever has been asked about promotion this season, it's always been ‘No, no, next game’ and focusing on what comes next.
The next game is now literally the game where we could get promoted, if we manage to beat Preston and assuming Leeds do the business on Friday as well. How do you feel about that?
MA: Yeah, obviously it's another step closer. I think the game the other night was massively important against Southampton. That was our game in hand, and it's always a strange one, because other teams are looking at you going: ‘ooh, they’ve still got that game in hand’ but then on the flip side of that, a lot of teams would rather have the points on the board.
So it's always a difficult one, especially with it being against Southampton as well who are a fantastic side and have done really well. It was a massive win for us, so I think we go into the last two games now with massive confidence from that game, and a big belief that we're capable of doing it.
CC: It was reported after the Plymouth game that there was a players-only meeting to clear the air and work out how we could progress after the back to back defeats. Have you got any insight from that and what was discussed?
MA: Yeah, Jamie Vardy called the meeting. There were a lot more players that spoke up than what I would have thought. Usually you have those meetings and it might only be one or two players that actually say things, but I think there was a lot of honesty. It was a big, honest conversation about what it would mean to the club to get promoted, what it would mean to the individuals.
Every individual in that dressing room has got a reason why they want to get promoted, whether that be for a trophy, whether that to be back in the Premier League, whether it be a financial reason. No matter what, every player has got a reason why they want to be back in that league. For me, I don't know what my situation is at the end of the season. So if this is to be my last year, I want to go out with silverware. I want to go out with a trophy and get this club back into the Premier League.
It was along those lines [the meeting] and just about getting back to the fact as well that the players want to have more freedom. I feel like sometimes, especially the in second half of the season, the lads seem like they don't want to take certain risks. Whereas we've got some incredible players in the squad, we've got some real talent, especially with the wingers, for example.
Their strength is running at players, getting past players, getting balls in the box. So go and do that. Make sure you have that freedom. I think they maybe lost a little bit of confidence during the season, with the defeats and stuff, but they've been absolutely brilliant for us. So it's just getting back to that.
CC: The last few games have been so interesting because we've seen the whole season, especially the start, dominating the ball, playing really well, nice passing sequences and so on.
The last few games almost felt a bit different, very scrappy against West Brom, a lot of heart being shown, Hamza [Choudhury] in particular, obviously sensational that game. Southampton, we had 34% possession, almost a Claudio Ranieri-type Leicester, hitting them on the break.
Was that a conscious change that you made, or just the way the game has panned out?
MA: It's just the way the game has panned out. I think when you play against Southampton, that was always going to be the case. Southampton are renowned under Russell Martin for having a lot of the ball, so that's probably one of the few games that we were going to have less possession. We needed to make sure that when we did have the ball, we utilised it well. And I think we did that. I think we did that really well.
With the West Brom game, again, yeah, probably predictable in terms of we knew we would have to put everything on the line to win the game. I’ve never quite seen as much as what we did with Hamza's performance. But I think everyone to a man that day was superb and just put their body on the line. And I think after the defeats that we'd had in the week, it was crucial that we show, especially at home, how much it means to us.
CC: You spoke about the wingers as well and getting back to being able to give them the freedom to take people on. Obviously, Abdul Fatawu scoring a hat trick the other night, he was absolutely unbelievable.
For a lot of fans, it feels like we've been longing for a Riyad Mahrez replacement for some time, there’s been a lot of people coming and going through the club in that time. How special is this kid?
MA: Yeah, he is. I think he's only 19 as well. So he's still really, really young. He's got a lot of learning to do. But he’s been a revelation for us. Like the game the other night, obviously seeing his first half, and when I spoke to him at half-time, I told him ‘just keep doing what you’re doing, both offensively and defensively’. Kyle Walker-Peters was trying to get forward but Abdul was tracking him all the way, he was making tackles. He was in the right position.
And I think that's a credit to him, how far he’s come and how much he's learned over the course of the season, because maybe at the start of the season, that wouldn't have been a priority for him. But I think the other night just showed how far he's come and how much he's learned on that side of the game.
CC: Yeah, I think the fans would absolutely love to keep them. But obviously, it's similar to yourself. It'll be interesting to see how it pans out.
MA: Yeah, I don't really know what's going to happen with him. But it'd be great to have him here next year.
CC: Going off reports, there's an obligation to buy if we're promoted, but then with all the off-field things going on at the minute, it’s a bit up in the air as to what we can and can't do in the summer.
A lot of players that are out of contract, yourself included, another one being Mr. Jamie Vardy. You guys clearly have a really good relationship. How has it been, spending the last 10 years with him? And have you got any funny stories from behind the scenes?
MA: Yeah, obviously he is a character like I've never met before. As far as funny stories go, there’s numerous...
CC: Anything that’s PG enough to say?
MA: That’s what I’m trying to filter out! But he's been a really close friend of mine. We've experienced some amazing times together, he's obviously a friend for life now. I sit next to him in the dressing room, I see him every single morning, I think the day where I don't see him every single morning will be quite a tough adjustment. Because like I say, he's a character.
I think he's great for a dressing room. Sometimes a dressing room needs somebody like him in terms of, not that he doesn't care about the football side, but he can make light of everything.
CC: He can help take the pressure off.
MA: Yeah, absolutely. He can create conversation. And he does that in various different ways. He's got his own regimes, that have been well-documented. But he’s a good friend of mine. And whatever happens to him, the service that he has shown to this football club is second to none. And the day that he does leave, whether that'll be this year, whether that be in a year or two’s time is going to be a sad day for the football club as a whole.
CC: I can't even imagine a Leicester life post-Vardy, he’s been there for that long, yourself as well.
Speaking about you, you've had limited game time this season. You were always known as a traditional winger, getting out wide and putting great deliveries into the box. You’ve dabbled in wing-back roles and full-back roles, too.
So I'm curious, has Enzo ever tried training you in that inverted full-back role? Or is that strictly for Ricardo and Hamza? Who's had a go at that in training?
MA: I think the occasional time somebody else will do it, if we're short on numbers. I've had a couple of goes in there. James Justin has been in there a couple of times.
CC: Do you like it?
MA: I think I prefer being out wide. You get a bit of a sense on the pitch - ‘pitch geography’ is something Brendan Rodgers used to touch on a lot. I think, as a wide player, you’re used to just looking one way, whereas in the middle of midfield, you've got to be looking all around you. So it's a massive change from playing out wide.
But the wing-back role, I do really like that. I think as my career has gone on, I’ve really enjoyed that wing-back role. It's a big shift, it really is, but I probably enjoy that more than playing as an out-and-out winger. Probably only now in recent years.
CC: You mentioned Rodgers there. He had such a brilliant start to his time with the club and it all went a little bit sour at the end. The fans weren't happy, the dressing room seemed a bit disengaged…
With Enzo coming in and lifting spirits, getting everyone back on side, what are the biggest differences? Not just tactically but also as people, their characters?
MA: Brendan Rodgers for me was incredible. He was probably the first manager where he really changed my view on football and the tactical side of it. He had so much knowledge about it and he was extremely good at passing that on to players.
As a person, he cared, he really cared about you, your family, and he really took an interest in what you were like from what was going on with your life away from football. Which I thought was brilliant. Like you say, we had the success as well with two 5th place finishes and the FA Cup, Community Shield. And even I think the following season we finished 8th as well which at the time a lot of people weren't happy with that.
CC: A lot of injuries that season.
MA: Yeah, there were a lot of injuries. We obviously had Europe to contend with as well, we got to a European semi-final against Roma, so it was always going to be difficult. But he was brilliant for us.
I think with Enzo, he’s definitely more intense. A lot more intense. On the training pitch, off the training pitch, he’s a lot more intense. I feel like Brendan, not that he wasn’t fully intense on the training pitch, but he had spells where it would be a little bit calmer.
Enzo works head on. He gets in before anyone else, he leaves when everyone's gone. He studies the game. He tells us how many games he’s watched that night. Sometimes he'll come down in his civvy clothes to a meeting and he’ll explain the fact that he’s been there since God knows when and hasn’t even had time to get changed before the meeting! Just because he's studying the game and obviously he's had a dedication from quite a young age to be a manager and a coach, and is obviously reaping the benefits of that now.
CC: I think Harry Winks said, who’s played under the likes of Pochettino and a lot of great managers at Spurs, that Enzo is the best manager he’s ever had.
You’ve said how Brendan Rodgers opened your eyes to different elements of football, I guess it's almost a re-education again under Maresca, in terms of everything he's asking for?
MA: It is, yeah. I think with Brendan he obviously played and had a certain system but it would occasionally change, like for certain games, sometimes it goes to a five at the back. The FA Cup Final we won it with a back five, but on the whole we played 4-3-3.
Whereas the way Enzo likes to do things, he's got his system and that’s his system. He won't change. Even if we lose games, he always says to us ‘but we did it our way’, we didn’t stop trying. But we've learned this from day one and that's the way we do things. He’s said ‘credit to you, you’ve done what I’ve asked’.
CC: I've got to touch on the title win obviously. Is there a moment where you thought you know, ‘it's wrapped up, we've got this’. Or was it literally not until the final whistle went at Stamford Bridge?
MA: No, the final whistle at Stamford Bridge. Because even then, I was so nervous. I think at half-time at that game it was 2-0 to Tottenham. I think the week before they beat Stoke maybe as well. I remember watching that on TV. I think they put four past Stoke and every time you watched them it was just thinking: ‘we can't afford to slip up, they’re going to catch us’.
In the end, it looks quite comfortable, but it wasn’t during that period. Don’t get me wrong, we started thinking ‘right, we can win the title here’ earlier, but until that final whistle went at Stamford Bridge, that's when we knew it was done, it was sealed, and we could actually call ourselves Premier League winners.
CC: Final one - about the photo that gets shared online all the time as ‘Marc Albrighton with a fan’. Is Messi the best player you’ve ever played against? Is there anyone that beats that?
MA: Haha, no, there's no one that beats it, no. Gerrard was one of my heroes growing up so to play against him and just to see up close, how much he ran and how powerful he was. His passing range, that's something I've never seen before. I've played when Torres was there as well, and his link-up with Torres was incredible.
But I think to play against Messi and to say that I’ve played against Messi, yeah, I'd have to say him. I remember the warm-up and when Leicester came out to, big cheer. Barcelona came out to warm-up, bigger cheer. Messi then came out to warm up and got an even bigger cheer, so that just tells you the calibre of player and person that he is.
The above interview and quotes were courtesy of talkSPORT - see more on the talkSPORT website.
