Schmeichel: Enjoy The Occasion

- Kasper Schmeichel speaks to LCFC TV after skippering Leicester City to a 1-0 win over Southampton in the Emirates FA Cup Semi-Final
- In-form Kelechi Iheanacho fired home the winner 10 minutes into the second half
- The Foxes will face Chelsea in the final of the competition on 15 May at Wembley Stadium
- Schmeichel is set to contest his first ever final as a professional footballer

Kelechi Iheanacho’s solitary effort sealed a spot in the FA Cup Final for the first time in 52 years, and the Foxes will face Chelsea next month in a bid to win the competition for the first time in their history.

However, Schmeichel, who skippered the Club on Sunday at Wembley Stadium, knows now is the time to strengthen their concentration as they prepare to contest a number of important Premier League matches before the final takes place in mid-May.

“It’s a good atmosphere, but we’re not getting carried away,” Schmeichel told LCFC TV. “We’ll enjoy tonight, enjoy this occasion – it doesn’t happy very often, so you have to live in the now and really enjoy it.

“Tomorrow, the focus shifts back to the Premier League and we can’t be looking too far ahead and getting ahead of ourselves. That’s exactly what we didn’t do today. We weren’t thinking of playing the occasion, of getting to a final.

“We were thinking of playing the game, and it got us a good result. Any cup final is going to be tough. It’s a very old, boring football cliché, but we can’t look that far ahead. There’s a massive, massive job ahead of us to stay in the top four. Focus shifts to Thursday now.”

Sunday’s goalscorer, Iheanacho, took his tally over the last seven games in all competitions to a brilliant haul of 10 goals, side-footing in the winner after some fine work from Jamie Vardy on the left flank on 55 minutes.

When asked to describe the No.14, Schmeichel said: “Incredible form, incredible guy, incredible player. Kelly (Kelechi Iheanacho) has been working so hard ever since he joined the Club.

“He just needed that bit of luck to give him the confidence – that goal, or whatever it was – because he does it in training every day and we see him every day. He’s horrible to play against sometimes, so I’m just buzzing for him that it’s coming to fruition in games.”

Despite an extensive professional playing career that began back in 2005 at Manchester City, the Foxes’ clash with Chelsea at Wembley Stadium next month will be the first final Schmeichel has ever contested.

“I’ve never played a final in my life,” he explained. “Being 34 and never having tried that, that just shows how rare these kind of occasions are, so it’ll be an amazing occasion. It’d be huge, but we’re not going that far, that’s three or four weeks ahead now.

“We’re very, very focused and very determined to not live in the future. We’re living in the now, focusing on now, and the next challenge is the Premier League. We have to take that later on.”