Claude Puel Praises Leicester's Fighting Spirit After Snatching Late Victory Over Newcastle

Leicester City manager Claude Puel pointed to his team's fighting spirit and fantastic character as the main reason for their 3-2 victory over the Magpies at St James' Park. 

The Frenchman told Leicester's official website: “It was a fantastic character from my team. It was a difficult atmosphere, we knew this. Also, they were leading but to win in the end is a fantastic feeling."

The former Nice gaffer did admit the Foxes didn't put in their best performance, but claimed he couldn't fault his players attitude: “It was a difficult game against a good team. It showed the fantastic spirit of the team, and so did the third goal. It is not our best game but this positive attitude was fantastic.”

Puel reserved individual praise for Shinji Okazaki, who was directly involved in Leicester's winning goal: “It was a good impact, he worked hard with his team-mates for the team, which is fantastic. It is a fantastic spirit and attitude.”

Finally, the Leicester manager mentioned turning his team's attention to the upcoming fixture with Southampton this Wednesday evening:“It was a good result, now it is important to keep a good focus and concentration on the away game against Southampton."

Claude Puel was the manager of Southampton for the entire 2016/17 Premier League campaign, but was sacked at the end of the season, despite achieving a very respectable 8th place finish with the Saints.