CLAUDE PUEL has two big traits of character. The first one is that he has a tough skin. A really tough skin. He is so strong mentally that he is ready to deal with and cope with pretty much anything thrown at him. He doesn’t get fazed or affected easily by criticism. Which, in his managerial career, has been very useful. The second trait is that he is a man of few words. He is not a big talker. He is not the kind of person able to fascinate a crowd with a speech. He prefers action to words. Which, for a manager, can be a bit of an issue at times.
It all comes from his education and also the values of the area in the south west of France where he was born and grew up. Work hard, be respectful but also stand your ground, don’t bulge from your ideas and philosophy and be honest. This sums up Puel very well. It is probably part of the reason why he has never had full unanimity around him. At Lille, at Lyon, at Nice, at Southampton or at Leicester, there were always good moments and more difficult ones. It is the life of a manager and he has always accepted it.
He doesn’t read what is written about him. He doesn’t listen or watch either. The only thing he focuses on is his work with the team. And he always believes in himself and in his work. At Southampton, he felt he was onto something but didn’t have the time to get to it. At Leicester, there is a lot to do too. From the beginning, he has wanted to rebuild the ageing squad he inherited when he arrived in October 2017. Nine players in the 25-man squad are 29 or over this season. Puel likes working with young players and improve them. If James Maddison is having such a positive first top flight campaign, it is also thanks to the work he is doing with the manager. Same for Hamza Choudhury or Harvey Barnes, who have both progressed a lot since the Frenchman’s arrival.
The style of football has not been great at times, but the team played really well at Wembley last weekend against Tottenham, despite losing (3-1) and against Manchester City in the win at home (2-1). The former Monaco midfielder is not afraid to make big calls either. If he thinks that Demarai Gray is more suited to his game plan against Spurs than Jamie Vardy, then Vardy will sit on the bench.
Nevertheless, at the end of the day, he also knows that football is about results. The Foxes are currently 12th in the table, only one point behind Everton in 9th place, but with one draw and five defeats, including one in the FA Cup against League 2 club Newport, in the last six matches. Before that, however, he beat Chelsea and Everton away and Manchester City at home. But the poor current run of form, he will not be happy with that for sure.
Puel will argue that the team’s performance at Tottenham last weekend was very good, that Leicester were the better side. And that the display at Wembley is encouraging on many levels. The starting XI on that day averaged 24.4 years old, the youngest in the league that weekend. Claude Puel is a builder. This is part of his DNA. That’s why he believed that the project at Southampton, with such a great academy, was right for him. He believes Leicester is a perfect place for him as well for the same reason.
At Lille, it took him two seasons to build a team that would then finish second and third in the table. At Nice, it took him two years again to create a unit that would then get to fourth place in Ligue 1. Both ended up playing very attractive football too, despite the initial couple of tough seasons.
Patience is key with Claude Puel. Leicester is a different team now than when he took over almost 15 months ago. He needs to stay at the club to continue his mission. You see the quality of a manager in his ability to improve players. From Ricardo to Maddison, from Chilwell to Ndidi, just to name a few, he has done just that at Leicester.
A £10 bet on Claude Puel to be the next Premier League manager returns £80
