Gary Rowett bemoans ‘heartbreaking’ error as Leicester drop to second-bottom

Gary Rowett bemoaned another “heartbreaking” costly error as Leicester dropped four points from safety in the Championship following a 1-0 defeat to Swansea at the King Power Stadium.

The game’s only goal came after 53 minutes as Zan Vipotnik produced a clinical finish via the underside of the crossbar after Eom Ji-Sung sprinted from his own box to the edge of the Leicester penalty area in a blistering counter attack.

Wins elsewhere for relegation-rivals Portsmouth and Oxford mean the Foxes now sit second-bottom, with only four matches left to play.

Foxes boss Rowett admitted his side must go back to basics in their quest for survival and challenged his players to show more fight on the pitch.

Rowett said: “We started OK and created some good moments without really getting into top gear and hurting the opposition as much as we’d like.

“We just give a stupid goal away. I don’t know how many times I’ve said it. It’s an absolutely ridiculous goal to give away, maybe we have to just go back to basics.

“To give a goal away of that sort is not only hugely frustrating, but when you’ve done it so many times it’s heartbreaking to see because it puts everything you’ve worked on out of the window.

“We didn’t react well enough after that. Our reaction after the goal was not what you would expect when you’re fighting for your lives down the bottom end of the table.

“We’ve struggled over a long period this season to do the basics well. The next game is going to define a lot. We’ve got to show more fight and show a little bit more desperation.”

Victory for Swansea ended the club’s four-game winless run, while Viptonik’s winner moved the striker onto 21 goals for the season and further clear of the chasing pack in the race for the golden boot.

Swans boss Vitor Matos believes Vipotnik can develop his game further while with the club and hopes the Welsh side can hold onto their prized asset in the summer.

Matos said: “It’s more important to think about the performance and to keep improving and keep growing, the mentality was there and the consistency and maturity.

“I’m really happy with the character of the team. The hunger is there and the desire is there. When you have that, independent of the result, that’s the most important thing to build from.

“He (Vipotnik) is an important player, he’s more than scoring goals, he helps the team in a lot of departments. He understands the importance that he has in terms of the collective.

“We’re just happy that he keeps scoring, we care a lot about him, we renewed his contract, we take care of him and his family and show how much we can help him to develop. He understands how important he is for the team.

“The (transfer) market is always interesting, you never know what’s going to happen in football but he knows how much we want him and he knows he has a place in everyone’s hearts.”