Press Conference: Brendan Rodgers on Carabao Cup defeat, VAR, Chelsea and more

Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers has talked to the press ahead of his side's upcoming clash with Chelsea on Saturday at the King Power Stadium. The Foxes head coach has talked about his side's recent Carabao Cup defeat to Aston Villa, defender search, team news and their upcoming rivals Chelsea. When asked how the team feels after Aston Villa defeat, Rodgers said: "We’ve spoken about it a lot. Every team is unified when you’re winning. They’re going to have bumps along the way, but we have to use it as a motivating factor as we’re still in another cup competition. "I’ve seen them today and the spirit is still very strong. No matter how low it is (emotionally and physically) you have to get on with it. "You have the disappointment on the day and when you wake up the next morning. They were back in the morning and worked well." He also talked about VAR decision, saying: "When I looked backed on the game, it didn’t seem that it was looked at for a long period of time. It was probably the clearest handball you will see. "We haven’t been given an explanation, but clearly that one should have been a penalty. We’ll definitely ask the question because it’s nice to have the clarity. We don’t really have an excuse now." When asked about his side's centre-back search, Leicester boss replied: "We’ve been trying to bring in a few players. There are still negotiations going on. There is nothing definite at the moment. You’ll know tomorrow." Rodgers also stated that Wes Morgan is still ruled out and team talisman James Vardy had no side-effects: "Wes Morgan is still out. We had a couple of minor knocks, but nothing serious. It will be the same squad. "Vardy had no side-effects." When asked about upcoming clash with Chelsea, the Foxes boss replied "An exciting game for us. Frank’s done a fantastic job, taking over a team that had lost their best player, so he had to galvanise them. "Everyone talks about the ban and that Frank was forced to use the young players, but that’s not the case. He could have played Giroud or Batshuayi up front, but he’s played Abraham. "He and his staff have done a fantastic job." He also was asked about James Maddison's tweet over penalty, to which he answered: "He was looking at it generally. I don’t think there was any intent to focus on one referee. His tweet was about the arm being raised and that’s what the VAR was there for. "There was probably a bit of frustration there. We’ll talk about the football now." Rodgers also talked about  N'Golo Kante and Wilfred Ndidi comparison: "His (Kante) game is very much the same in terms of having big energy in the game. "He gets forward a little bit more. Here, he was covering spaces, there, he’s playing more advanced, breaking up the play further up the pitch. "Wherever he plays, he’s a top-class player. Every team he’s played in he’s made better. A fantastic better. "I think they’re different. Wilf is a young player at 22 but reads the game so well and how he recovers the ball to allow our attacking players to play. "Both players recover the ball so well, but their play is different." Source- Leicestershire Live

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