Puel: We Shared Our Emotion
- Claude Puel says Leicester City showed balance in their emotions during their 1-0 victory over Cardiff City
- Demarai Gray scored the only goal of the game to spark heartwarming celebrations between the players, staff and fans
- The squad will now head to Bangkok to attend Chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha’s funeral
Just a week after the tragic passing of Chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the Foxes returned to action for an emotional game at Cardiff City Stadium.
Demarai Gray’s solo strike sealed a 1-0 victory, but fixture was more than just a game of football – it was a show of togetherness between the entire Football Club.
Reflecting fondly on the conversations he used to have with Khun Vichai before games, Puel said: “‘Three points!’ It was always the words before games from Vichai. All the time it was ‘three points’.
“I think we’ve had three points another time and it was fantastic because I think we know our Chairman.
“It was a difficult game to prepare, of course, and I would like to congratulate all the staff, all the players of the squad, because they participated a lot and they kept a good feeling, they found a good balance between their emotions and their aggressiveness and conviction on the pitch.
“We won this game, I think we deserved to win this game. I am proud of my players because they gave their best in this condition, in this situation, and after it was fantastic to share our emotion and to know our Chairman with our fans, staff, players.
“To communicate together just with a feeling for Vichai, it was a fantastic moment, shared between ourselves.”
The squad will now head to Bangkok to attend Khun Vichai’s funeral before returning to England to prepare for their Premier League fixture with Burnley next weekend.
Puel continued: “All we wanted [was] to pay our tributes for the Chairman. Now it’s not finished, it’s not finished, because we want to continue. We will have a difficult week to prepare the next game.
“First thing, the most important [thing] of course, we will go to honour our Chairman in Bangkok. We will come back in the middle of the week, with just two or three training sessions to prepare for this game against Burnley.
“It will be also a special game at home, of course, to honour our Chairman with all the fans and I think a lot of events. It will be important also to keep in this situation, to keep our calm, our self-control.
“Staff [and] players will play this game with the right intensity and the right feeling. It will be tough to prepare but first the game against Cardiff was a first step. We will have to manage the next game, of course.”
At the full-time whistle, the 3,000-strong away crowd celebrated with the Club’s players and staff, singing Khun Vichai’s name during some special scenes in South Wales.
“I think we share this emotion,” Puel added. “A lot of staff [and] players cried, fans also. After the game it was a good thing, this result, it’s fantastic to honour our Chairman and together to share in our grief.
“It’s important now to continue. When we saw all the images of the flowers around the stadium, it’s fantastic. These tributes show the kindness, the warmth of the owner, and he liked to share a lot of things.
“He was close to everyone and it’s a good feeling to start this tribute with a win, of course.”