Ranieri: Try Until The End

- The City boss explained how his side played with a big heart against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday evening 

- The Foxes host Stoke City at King Power Stadium in the Barclays Premier League on Saturday 

Claudio Ranieri wants his Leicester City side to continue to show their fighting spirit when they host Stoke City at King Power Stadium on Saturday. 

The Foxes were beaten 2-0 in their Emirates FA Cup Third Round replay by Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday evening, but still showed their mettle against a side they had faced three times in 10 days. 

Even at 2-0 down in the final minute of injury time against Spurs, City pushed for a goal, with goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel getting forward in an attempt to reduce the deficit – an action that Ranieri applauded. 

The City boss said: “I said well done to the players because we played with a big heart. I told to my players we made a fantastic step this season. 

“We played face to face with a team who started to build a long time ago to fight for the Champions League and this season is ready to fight for the title. 

“Yes we lost in the FA Cup but we had two draws, one win and one loss [against Tottenham]. That is good for us. Both me and Mauricio [Pochettino] played players that didn’t play consistently. We played very well. The first half wasn’t so good. 

“We defended too deep but in the second half we played our football. They were calmer, and scored a second goal but I wanted to make a very good highlight about our heart. If you see at the end Kasper Schmeichel tried to score a goal. That is what I want until the end – try.” 

Ahead of Saturday’s game against the Potters, Ranieri noted a significant improvement in his players’ ability to fulfil his tactics but still believes his side have work to do. 

He added: “Now we are more confident. Now the players know very well what they have to do during the match. “At the beginning I said too many times this is wrong. Now I have just to say stay calm. We are so frenetic sometimes. We must stay calm and choose to make a goal. 

“Sometimes when we get the ball the first idea is go straight away and sometimes it’s much better to wait and choose something different.”