Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers has explained why he took the decision to substitute Ademola Lookman during their 2-2 draw against Burnley on Saturday.
The 23-year-old started in the game at King Power Stadium but was pulled out with 12 minutes left to the final whistle, to be replaced by James Maddison but the decision by Rodgers was not received well by the Foxes’ fans who booed it.
Burnley had taken the lead in the 12th minute after Jamie Vardy scored an own goal but he responded to make it 1-1 for the home team in the 37th minute. Burnley restored their lead in the 40th minute through Maxwel Cornet.
Vardy then scored in the 85th minute to help Leicester earn a draw in the contest.
Rodgers has said he was happy for supporters to air their views and went further to explain why he pulled out Lookman, despite an impressive display from the winger.
“The reason behind it was that obviously, Ade played in the week, he’s just settling into the squad and into our way of working,” Rodgers told reporters as quoted by allnigeriasoccer.
“He had a good 65 minutes during the week, and so we took him off knowing that he was going to start in this game.
“I thought, in particular, the second half he was excellent, started to tire a little bit in that period and the idea was to try and bring in another player that can create something.
“In my time here James Maddison, has in the main, been outstanding, he’s obviously been unfortunate with injury so he’s a player of real talent that we’re bringing into the team to try and unlock the defence towards the end because we had a lot of ball and pressure in that area. That was the reason why.
“I’ve been here nearly two-and-three-quarter-years, that’s probably the first time the fans have booed, so I’ll take that after that period of time.
“I would never judge supporters on airing their feelings in the stadium, that’s part of the decision-making as a manager. Some you get right, some you won’t, but ultimately you have to be decisive and try to affect the game to try to win the game.”
Lookman, who has managed 139 minutes in the Premier League for Leicester since joining at the start of the season, was born in England to Nigerian parents and is eligible for the national teams of both countries.
