For Russell Martin, Leicester City’s first home League One fixture of the season is about more than three points. It is an early chance to turn the King Power Stadium into something opponents notice before they even kick off: a place where the crowd and the team move together.
That is the challenge Martin set out on Friday ahead of Saturday’s meeting with Burton Albion. After last weekend’s 1-1 draw with Notts County in Nottingham, he said the week of training had brought learning and improvement, but that the work only matters if it shows up when the pressure is on. Leicester have already played two games at the King Power Stadium under Martin, but this one carries a different feel because it arrives in League One and brings the first home fixture of the season.
Martin’s message was simple enough. He wants the crowd to connect with the team, and he believes that connection can become a real weapon if Leicester start fast. He spoke about giving supporters energy, giving them something to be excited about and creating an atmosphere built on effort without the ball as much as quality with it. In his view, the route to making the stadium a difficult place for visitors is not complicated: work hard, hunt the ball, run off the ball and play forward with purpose.
That matters because early-season home games often become small tests of identity. Leicester are not just trying to win a match against Burton Albion; they are trying to establish a standard for how the King Power Stadium should feel across the campaign. Martin said he hopes the performance can help the crowd feel good about what they see, because the energy inside the ground can grow as the year goes on. In other words, this is as much about setting a tone as setting a result.
There is also a practical side to his thinking. Martin said the players gave him a period in the opening game that he really liked, but that there were also details they did not quite execute. This week, he said, the training has been strong and the learning has been clear since the weekend. The next step, he stressed, is making sure that work transfers to the pitch on Saturday. Training well is useful; showing it in front of a home crowd is what will matter.
For Leicester, that makes Burton Albion more than just the next opponent. It is the first real checkpoint in a bigger project, one that Martin clearly wants built on intensity, clarity and home support. If the performance matches the message, the King Power Stadium could start to feel very different very quickly.
