Dean Smith wants Leicester to play without fear against Wolves
The Foxes are currently second from bottom in the Premier League and need a win to boost their survival hopes.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Boss Dean Smith has urged Leicester to forget their fears against Wolves as they battle to save their Premier League skins.
The Foxes host Wolves on Saturday sitting second bottom and two points from safety.
Leicester also go to fellow strugglers Leeds on Tuesday before hosting Everton in a crucial spell and Smith believes his new side need to be brave.
“We can’t play with any fear,” he said, having lost his opening game 3-1 at Manchester City after replacing Brendan Rodgers until the end of the season.
“We’ve looked at the quality we have on the training ground, we haven’t brought that onto the pitch over the last eight or nine games.
“What I saw against Bournemouth (a 1-0 defeat) was a lethargy. We need to be free and play with confidence.
“We’re taking it one game at a time, we knew the Man City game was going to be a unique one, given the level they are at compared to pretty much everyone else.
“Everyone knows how important this fixture is, hopefully we get to see a lift from the players and we can start how we finished at Manchester City.
“You’re not going to be defined on that (game). The games which are coming up – we can only look at Wolves to start with. Our results at home haven’t been where they should be.”
Ricardo Pereira remains out with a hamstring issue, with Jannik Vestergaard also sidelined. Harvey Barnes is close to a return following a hamstring injury but Smith will not risk the winger.
“I’ve got to balance that risk, I know he is going to start training on Sunday and be ready for Tuesday,” he said.
“It’s not an easy decision. He’s our top scorer but I’ve got to balance the risk and I feel the risk would be too much. He may have got minutes off the bench but the risk to reinjure is just too much.”