A New Chapter Begins by Danny Simpson
READY TO BEGIN WITH LEICESTER CITY
I was quite surprised when Harry Redknapp pulled me into his office, said Leicester City had made an enquiry, how do I feel and that he was happy to let me go. I had enjoyed a good pre-season and was ready to hit the ground running in the Premier League, so it was a little bit of a shock after the year I had and the team. I thought about what he said and decided I wanted to play for Leicester City and improve my opportunity for first-team football. Harry’s brought in a lot of players, so you have to respect his decision. However, I am ready to push on with Leicester now and work as hard as I possibly can. I feel it will be a fantastic move for me, because it is a brilliant club with excellent training facilities and a lively stadium. Plus, everyone has been top-class with me so far. I am extremely excited for this new chapter of my career.
I think Leicester City have the same target as Queens Park Rangers, which is to first reach the 40-point mark. However, I have only been with the club for a couple of days. I just know that everyone is excited and looking to pick up results straight away. I am buzzing to be staying in the Premier League and hopefully I can repay Nigel Pearson’s faith in me with some good performances and work hard for him the team and the fans.
The team’s performance against Arsenal was fantastic, but they showed their qualities in the Championship last season. They stormed to the league title and were always a difficult team to play against. When Arsenal took the lead, some may have expected heads to go down. However, the boys were determined to get back into the game and they may have scored another and nicked the three points.
Obviously, my first aim is earning a place in the Leicester City first-team, but I understand I have to work extremely hard in training if I want to achieve this. We’ve had three games so far and I think we are showing enough quality to suggest we are a Premier League team. The boys also performed very well against Chelsea. So, the first thing I have to do is settle in and train hard to hopefully break into the starting line-up. If I can be a part of results like the one at the weekend, I will be happy.
I haven’t had any initiation or singsong yet and I hope it stays that way lol. Every single one of the players has been welcoming and it is great to hear that everyone shares the same idea, which is to stay in the Premier League. I also know a few players from my Manchester United days, such as Danny Drinkwater, Ritchie De Laet and Matty James and so it makes my integration into the squad much easier.
I have so much respect for the Queens Park Rangers fans, because they were so good to me from day one. I have had so many messages, comments and tweets supporting my move and some saying they are sad to see me leave. Therefore, I would like to say thanks to the fans and also good luck to QPR this season. I want the QPR fans to enjoy themselves and i will never forget my time their.
To the Leicester City fans, I want to say thanks for the incredible welcome they’ve given me and that I am ready to give 110% for them and enjoy a good season back in the Premier League
Danny