Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers said he was disappointed to miss out on the Champions League but is proud of the progress of the club.
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Leicester City manager Brendan Rodgers said he was disappointed to miss out on Champions League football but proud of the progress the club has made. Leicester went into the final Premier League matchday knowing a win would secure a top 4 finish. However, a 4-2 loss to Tottenham Hotspur saw them settle for fifth place. This is the second season running the Foxes have narrowly missed out on CL qualification.
“I’m disappointed if I’m honest. In this moment, for the players, I feel for the people who run the club,” he told LCFC TV after the match.
“We were so close. I know what it means, getting into the Champions League, and how it would have helped us going forward.
“Naturally we’ll have that disappointment, but over 38 games, we just fell short. The pride I have in the team, everything that went against them, how we’ve continued to challenge, working right to the very end.
“We just didn’t quite have enough today.”
The loss was a shocking one, mainly because Leicester were 2-1 up and in control. Yet an own goal from Kasper Schmeichel saw nerves set in. Ultimately, Spurs proved to be too good on the counter and Leicester shipped two more goals.
“With 15 minutes to go, 2-1 up, we didn’t have too many problems. They obviously made substitutions that can change the game and we gave away two disappointing goals from our aspect today.
“We were then chasing the game that gives their players space and they have the quality to exploit that. We’ll recover and then we’ll get back really excited and motivated to move on next season again.”
However, the progress they have made under Rodgers is evident. Back-to-back top 5 finishes and an FA Cup win are no mean feat in the competitive English football landscape.
“It’s been an incredible season for us. We’re just disappointed we couldn’t make that extra step. After 24-48 hours, when you take a step back and look at what we’ve achieved.
“Two years of playing football and really challenging at the top end of the table, making progress in terms of winning the FA Cup for the first time in the history of the club. It’s obviously something we’re very, very proud of.
“At this moment in time, the disappointment will linger for a period of time. Then we’ll get ready, come back and look to fight even harder.”
