Leicester fans ‘fully justified’ to boo players after stunning collapse

Leicester caretaker Andy King told his players they could have no complaints about being booed-off after watching them throw away a 3-0 lead before being beaten 4-3 by Southampton.

After being deducted six points by the EFL for financial breaches and sitting perilously close to the relegation zone, the hosts looked to be cruising to a first win under their interim manager when Patson Daka and Abdul Fatawu pounced following on-loan Manchester City teenager Divine Mukasa’s opener.

But King’s opposite number Tonda Eckert took introduced three substitutes at the start of the second period before bringing on two more late on, and three of them – Ross Stewart, Ryan Manning and Shea Charles – joined captain Jack Stephens on the scoresheet in a stunning turnaround.

Stephens and Manning both struck during the final 10 minutes of normal time before Charles left the City fans calling for the boards’ heads when he netted the winner deep into stoppage time.

City, now without a victory in six, appeared crushed as the cheers which had been reverberating around the King Power Stadium turned to jeers.

King said: “Let’s not be naive about what has just happened there. The fans are fully justified to react the way they did at the end.

“I was very strong on the point at half-time that the game hadn’t been won. I was pleased with the first half but it’s certainly not a positive. There are no positives to take because of the second half. None at all.

“I can’t explain what happened. I have spoken to the players and there is a sense of anger but I won’t elaborate on that until I’ve had time to reflect more.

“I have had a conversation with the lads in the dressing room and it’s right that they know my feelings on what happened.”

With only goal difference now separating City from the bottom three, King added: “I just want to apologise for that last half an hour because it just wasn’t acceptable.

“You can’t hide away from anything. It’s going to be difficult to bounce back from that.”

While City peer anxiously over their shoulders, Southampton are now within touching distance of the play-offs after Eckert’s tactical and personnel tweaks sparked a dramatic upturn in performance.

“At half-time, we reset,” he said. “I asked the players to make a decision and that was if they wanted to have a proper go. In fairness, they had already made that decision for themselves.

“I didn’t want to do too much talking to the players about structure. I wanted to leave that to the staff.

“For me, it was more about dealing with the emotions. There’s a lot flying around.

“I give full compliments to the players. It is tough to find the right words because there are so many thoughts still buzzing around.

“I don’t have an explanation for what happened during the first half. We were just a step late to everything and were poor in possession and out of possession. But we bounced back. It was a crazy night.”