Puel hails players after emotional Leicester win

Leicester City manager Claude Puel has praised his side’s “dedication and concentration” after an emotional 1-0 win over Cardiff City in their first game since the death of owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.

The 60-year-old was one of five people killed when a helicopter they were travelling in appeared to lose control shortly after taking off from the King Power Stadium following last Saturday’s 1-1 draw with West Ham.

Demarai Gray’s 55th-minute strike proved the difference at the Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday and Puel was full of admiration for his players after what has been one of the most tragic weeks in the club’s history.

“It was a difficult game to play and to prepare, it was important to keep concentration in set pieces and second balls, but I think from the first minute until the end we kept our concentration and our dedication,” he told Sky Sports.

“We had a lot of chances, we deserve this result and it is a fantastic opportunity to honour the chairman. It was a good balance between emotion and concentration, which is difficult.

“This is just the first step and I hope we can continue next week with the same feeling.”

Simply amazing. pic.twitter.com/eDsnrRSq1G

— Leicester City (@LCFC) November 3, 2018

Leicester captain Wes Morgan says the players felt under pressure before the game, but were fully committed to picking up maximum points for their late owner.  

“You can see by our reaction at the end of the game how much we wanted to get the win and do it for the chairman,” he said.

“We felt the pressure before the game. It was a scrappy game, the lads fought to the very end.

“We were very close to the chairman. We know what his wishes were. He used to come down at home games, have a joke and laugh, always say ‘want win and three points’, we did that today.

“It has not been an easy week, we had to try and hold our emotions in today and do the best we can.”