Gray: A Lot To Look Forward To

- Leicester City lost 2-0 to Manchester United on the final day of the 2019/20 Premier League season
- Demarai Gray looks to the positives with the Club achieving its second-best Premier League finish this term
- The Foxes will also compete in Europe for the first time since 2016/17, a source of excitement for Gray
- The 24-year-old says the Foxes are determined to build on the progress made over the past 12 months

The Foxes fell to a 2-0 loss against the 20-time champions at King Power Stadium on Sunday, with Bruno Fernandes and Jesse Lingard getting the goals on the final day of the season.

However, Brendan Rodgers' men still finish fifth in the table - their second best finish in the Premier League era - and will compete in European football for the first time since 2016/17 next term.

Gray, who was a second-half substitute for City on Sunday, stressed the importance of moving on from the disappointment of missing out on even greater achievements and preparing for the future.

"Obviously being so close to the Champions League, that hurts," he told LCFC TV. "All around, it's been a great season: [finishing] fifth and [we've got] Europa League football to look forward to.

"So, like I say, it's disappointing, but overall, I think everyone should be proud of themselves and we've got a lot to look forward to next season."

Leicester created several opportunities against the Red Devils and before Fernandes' 71st-minute penalty for the visitors, Rodgers' men were one goal away from a precious victory.

However, Gray, 24, says City will move on from that frustration quickly as planning already begins for what promises to be an exciting 2020/21 campaign for the Club.  

"It was tight, I think both teams kept it together and going a goal behind made it difficult," the former Birmingham City midfielder continued at full-time.

"We were chasing the game then and the manager's put on all the attackers, but we couldn't quite get the goal to give us some momentum, so it's disappointing in the end.

"We pushed to the end because anything can happen. It didn't happen today. It's just one of those [games], which is unfortunate, because there was a lot to play for.

"Like I said, I don't think we should be too negative at all. European football for the Club is a great achievement."

Next season will begin over the weekend of Saturday 12 September and Gray says he and his team-mates are determined to build on the progress made this time around.

"Next season is going to be lots of games, and I think we've just got to take this time off to refresh and come back stronger next season," he added.

"It's a quick turnaround, so we've got to be ready next season and we've got Europa League football to play, it's another competition to try and get silverware.

"We want to be a consistent club and stay up here over the next few seasons, competing with the best teams.

"We showed, throughout the season, that we can compete with the best teams when we're 100 per cent on it. We're just going to rebuild, refocus and see what next season brings."

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