Brendan Rodgers tore into his Leicester players after the FA Cup holders were humiliated by Nottingham Forest on Sunday, branding them ‘embarrassing’.
Without naming names, Rodgers said too many of his squad ‘think they’re top players but they’re a long way off it’, as he accused them of lacking hunger.
Full credit must go to Steve Cooper’s Forest, who were outstanding, but Leicester didn’t play like a Premier League team.
Brendan Rodgers slammed his Leicester team for an ‘awful’ display against Nottingham Forest
James Maddison was disappointing, Harvey Barnes was substituted at half-time and Youri Tielemans, wearing the armband, was another hooked by Rodgers.
The Leicester boss said some of his players need to prove before the end of the season why he shouldn’t get rid of them.
‘It was an awful performance and I have to apologise to the supporters,’ Rodgers said.
The Foxes boss apologised to Leicester fans after a 4-1 defeat against Forest in the FA Cup
Asked if he could put his finger on the problem, he answered: ‘Yeah, hunger. It’s a lack of hunger. I said to the players (at half-time) that for the first time since I’ve been here I’ve been embarrassed. It was an embarrassing performance. I feel for the supporters.
‘We brought the FA Cup (trophy) into our team meeting so the players could see what we went through last year to win this competition, to remind them of the day at Wembley and the journey, to provide that motivation and extra desire to come out here.’
That attempt at inspiration fell flat as Forest, who face Huddersfield Town in the next round, wiped the floor with Leicester.
Asked if there are players resting on last season’s achievements, Rodgers said: ‘That’s why a lot of these players are not top players — because they can’t sustain it.
Rodgers said his players were ’embarrassing’ and lacked hunger on Sunday afternoon
Last season’s FA Cup winners were comprehensively outplayed by their Midlands rivals
Kelechi Iheanacho (left) scored the only goal of the game for the Foxes at the City Ground
‘That’s why I have admiration for the really top players who can keep that hunger and desire, no matter how much they achieve. I always judge it on the physicality of the team; the pressing, the aggression.
‘There are a lot of these players, between now and the end of the season, who need to prove they are still worthy of being here, because we’ve seen it now for a little while.
‘There are players here who may have achieved everything they can.
‘It’s something we’ll have to look at between now and the end of the season. Until then, they’ve got to have a look at themselves in the mirror and fight like hell to prove they’re good enough to be here.
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Forest were rampant as they knocked holders Leicester out of the FA Cup in the fourth round
Forest boss Steve Cooper praised the supporters for getting behind his team on Sunday
‘I watch training every day and have been in the game long enough to know when, for some, it’s maybe everything they could have ever dreamt of. They bolstered their legend as a player. They won the FA Cup, and that might be it.
‘But it’s not for me and not what I want to achieve here. Too many think they’re top players but they’re a long way off it.’
Forest boss Cooper added: ‘The supporters were amazing. There’s a bit more on it, with the local rivalry, but the better the connection between the supporters and the players, the stronger we can be as a club.’