Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers picked out midfielder Harvey Barnes for special praise following his side’s record-breaking victory against Southampton on Friday night.
The Foxes hit nine at St Mary’s to beat Manchester United’s record for the biggest-ever away win in the Premier League with Jamie Vardy and Ayoze Perez both scoring hat-tricks.
England Under-21 international Barnes grabbed an assist on the night and was brilliant all round, but speaking to Sky Sports after the game, Rodgers insisted that the best is yet to come from the midfielder.
“He needs time,” the manager insisted. “He’s such a good kid, he’s not naturally arrogant so he’s coming to the level now in this last seven or eight months.
“I think once he has that real belief and personality – because that’s growing all the time – then he’s going to be a big, big player for Leicester and for England I think.
“One of the passes he made tonight was great, he came inside and he’s starting to, not just go one-on-one, but also find the pass for one of Ayoze’s goals.”
Southampton had Ryan Bertrand sent off after 12 minutes and Rodgers said he was delighted with his how his side responded to having the numerical advantage.
“They can be tough games, playing against 10 men and that’s twice now we’ve dealt really well with it in terms of the intensity in our pressing and obviously circulating the ball at the speed that we did.
“I’m very proud of the team and it’s a mentality that we’ve been trying to impose every day to keep going and keep pushing, so to finish with nine was a remarkable effort away from home.”
Leciester now turn their attentions to the EFL Cup as they play Burton Albion away from home on Tuesday.
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