Kelechi Iheanacho deserves respect for the difficult role he plays at Leicester City, manager Brendan Rodgers has said.
With Jamie Vardy in form, Iheanacho was limited in his opportunities to end his dry patch and Rodgers has said that being a back-up striker is far from easy.
“What (Kelechi) has to do, and I’m sure he will, is take his training form into the games,” Rodgers said.
“He’s been absolutely top class in training over pre-season, he’s been amazing. When we were away in Evian and he played in the practice game, he scored four goals out of five. He was sensational.
“He needs to take that into games. That’s key for him and I’m sure he’ll do that.
“It’s difficult. You have to respect his position. He’s a support striker for one of the best strikers in the Premier League. It’s not easy.
“All he can do is continue to work and work well and when the opportunities come, he’s got to take them.
“Once they start to go in, he’ll gain more confidence from that.”
Iheanacho’s task could be even harder this season following the £30 million signing of Ayoze Perez.
While Perez is likely to start on the wing, Rodgers classes the Spaniard as a forward and so he will be a rival to Iheanacho should Vardy be unavailable.
Perez twisted his ankle after scoring on his non-competitive debut against Scunthorpe, but is set to feature for City against Stoke.
“Perez is a central striker that can play wide,” said Rodgers.
“The thing for me is that wherever he plays, he has the possibility to score. Against Scunthorpe, he played off the side but he could have had a hat-trick. He’s just that type of player.”
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