Puel's Pride After An Emotional Day

First Team
10 Nov 2018
2 Minutes
Leicester City overcame their emotions to deliver a performance to be proud of despite being held to a 0-0 draw by Burnley on Saturday, says manager Claude Puel.

- Claude Puel expresses his pride following Leicester City's emotional 0-0 draw with Burnley on Saturday
- The Club paid their respects to Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, our beloved late Chairman, and the four other people who lost their lives two weeks ago
- Puel was pleased to see his players deliver a performance which they could be proud of at King Power Stadium
- City deserved to win the match, especially based on their first half performance, says Puel

Everyone associated with the Club – players, staff and supporters – came together at King Power Stadium to pay an emotional tribute to our Chairman, Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, and the four people who lost their lives in a helicopter accident on Filbert Way a fortnight ago.

In City’s first home match since the tragic events of Saturday 27 October, Puel’s men fought until the end in search of winner, but were denied by an excellent defensive display from Sean Dyche’s visitors.

Speaking to LCFC TV at full-time, Puel said: “It was our first game at home. It was important to honour our Chairman with our fans, together, and to give our very best in this game.

“I am proud of our performance because it was a brilliant performance, after a fantastic first half with a lot of chances, without the success of scoring.

“It’s a little disappointment at the end, not winning the game, but I am proud of our mentality, about our play, about our match.

“It was a fantastic emotion, also, after the game with Top. Around the pitch, together, to honour Vichai. It’s a fantastic response from Vichai’s family.”

The moments Puel refers to saw Khun Top and Khun Vichai’s family join the matchday squad before Claudio Ranieri, Nigel Pearson, Craig Shakespeare, Steve Walsh, Robert Huth and Esteban Cambiasso – icons of recent Leicester City history – also took to the pitch at full-time.

On the match specifically, meanwhile, Puel added: “We knew it would be a tough game to prepare. It was not possible to train a lot of times after a long trip to Thailand for Vichai’s funeral.

“But I think all of it was important for us to pay our tributes and to give support for Vichai’s family.

“After, it was important also to find the right balance between our emotion and our professional attitude on the pitch. I am proud of the players, they played a good game.

“We deserved to win this game. We conceded just one chance – a set piece in the first half – but that is football sometimes. We gave our very best.”