Schmeichel’s Double Award Pride
Kasper Schmeichel says he was overwhelmed with pride after being named Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season on Monday evening.
- Kasper Schmeichel thanked the Club’s fans after he was voted 2016/17 Player of the Season
- The Leicester City goalkeeper also picked up the Players’ Player of the Season award
- Also hear from Wes Morgan, Wilfred Ndidi and Danny Drinkwater following the 2016/17 Season Awards
Kasper Schmeichel says he was overwhelmed with pride after being named Player of the Season and Players’ Player of the Season on Monday evening.
Just as he had done during his debut season at the Club five years ago, the stopper picked up two accolades at the 2016/17 Season Awards after some emphatic performances in a City shirt.
The night, hosted at King Power Stadium, celebrated some of the finest moments of the campaign, including a fairytale run to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League that Schmeichel himself was instrumental to.
Speaking to LCFC TV after collecting both prizes, Schmeichel said: “I'm overwhelmed. I'm very proud because there are a lot of worthy competitors in the team for this award. I'm proud and happy and for me, I won this award the first season I was here, so to win it again is a big honour.
Skipper Wes Morgan was on hand to pick up the Performance of the Season award on behalf of his team-mates, with the 2-0 Champions League win over Sevilla chosen as the most impressive of the campaign.
"I'm hugely grateful for the fans' support. We've certainly had our shares of ups and downs throughout the seasons here with the Play-Off loss, promotion, nearly getting relegated and then winning the league.
Foxes Players Receive End Of Season Awards
The award winners from Monday evening's ceremony spoke to LCFC TV after picking up their accolades.
"It's been very important for us to have the backing of the fans all the way through. From the first day that I stepped in the door, I've felt the warmth of the fans. They've been magnificent and I think the atmosphere that they create at the stadium and away from home is second to none."
“It was an unbelievable night,” reflected Morgan. “The build-up to the game was fantastic and that atmosphere was great. To go into the game knowing we needed a good result spurred us on.
“It just went to plan – we went out there and go a nice early goal and we got the second goal. There was a little bit of drama with the penalty but credit to Kasper for pulling out a save when he needed to. The crowd was behind us and we delivered when we needed to. It’s a big story and one that will be in Leicester’s memory forever.”
A man who has impressed in a short space of time is midfielder Wilfred Ndidi, whose performances were recognised on Monday night as the Nigeria international was named Young Player of the Season.
Ndidi said: “I feel really happy and I’m honoured to receive this award. I see Demarai Gray and Ben Chilwell as great players, so I never really expected the award because of the type of players that they are. Everybody around me is trying their best to help me settle here so a lot of credit goes to the coach, staff and everyone here.”
If Danny Drinkwater makes his way onto the scoresheet, it’s usually a pretty special goal and it was his sweet half-volley against Liverpool back in February that was voted as Leicester City’s Goal of the Season.
Drinkwater said: “I can’t remember much of it to be honest. It just came to me and I just remember the feeling when it went in. Something needed to happen in our season and after Vards (Jamie Vardy) scored, my goal made it 2-0 so it was important.”
After making his first team debut for the Club against FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League, Harvey Barnes had an incredibly productive spell on loan at MK Dons this term and his efforts were rewarded after collecting the 2016/17 Development Squad Player of the Season award.
“It’s an honour to pick up this award,” Barnes said. “We’ve got a great bunch of lads in there this year and we’ve had our ups and downs, but we’ve come out strong for the last game of the season."
Another youngster hoping to kick on after an enjoyable campaign is defender Alex Pascanu, who was named Academy Squad Player of the Season after competing at three different age levels for the Club this term.
Pascanu said: “To be honest, I was a little nervous but I’m happy because it means quite a lot. I’ve had a good season and I’ve been involved with the Under-23s quite a lot. We managed to avoid relegation, which was a very good result in the end for us. We had a good run in the FA Youth Cup with the Under-18s, only losing to Chelsea, who eventually went on to win it.
“I’ve played over 40 matches this season and I’ve enjoyed being involved in every competition. It was good to battle everywhere and I also went away Romania, so it’s been a good experience all round.”
Congratulations to all of the winners at the Club's 2016/17 Season Awards!