Leicester City must be flexible to deal with the challenge of the Premier League, manager Nigel Pearson has said.
City took on Rotherham last night in their penultimate pre-season friendly, and Pearson used the game to give a number of his side a full 90 minutes as they prepare for the opening Premier League game of the season at home to Everton in 10 days time.
As well as fitness, Pearson has also been using the pre-season schedule to look at various formations and he admits he wants as many tactical options as possible ahead of City's first Premier League campaign for a decade.
City utilised several different formations last season en route to the Championship title, but predominantly they used a 4-4-2 formation.
However, Pearson said he should not be tagged as a rigid 4-4-2 manager.
"From time to time we will have to use different formations," he said.
"I do get a little bit bemused how people pigeon-hole you as a manager or us as a team. We have played a lot of 4-4-2 football but we played a number of different formations last season.
"Clearly there will be times in the year when we have to find the right way of playing that gives us the best chance of winning games or being a problem for other sides.
"We will go into it with a method of how we do that but, ultimately, the spirit we have within the camp will help.
"Of course, you can't achieve anything on spirit alone, we will need a level of performance."
Pearson is certainly confident that his players will be able to rise to the challenge of facing the elite of English football.
"Our players are pretty upbeat about the prospects of playing in the Premier League," he said.
"We have a tough start, I know, but that is what we are here to do.
"We have worked hard to get ourselves there and now we want to give a good account of ourselves.
"Pre-season is about preparation and being competitive as a squad."