CLAUDIO RANIERI, the Leicester City manager, revealed that a special celebration paved the way for his side to establish a commanding seven-point lead at the head of the Barclays Premier League.
The Foxes recorded a 1-0 home win over Southampton thanks to their captain Wes Morgan’s first goal of the season on 38 minutes and capitalised on Tottenham Hotspur’s failure to win at Anfield on Saturday night.
Before the match, however, they helped club chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, who paid for free doughnuts and beer for supporters, to begin the celebrations for his birthday later today with a sing-song behind-the-scenes. A fourth consecutive victory merely added to the general sense of cheer.
"We sung Happy Birthday to him in the dressing room before the match and I asked the players to give him a good present, three points," said the Italian. "We are pleased for him because he is a fantastic man.
“He came from Thailand to watch the match and has a very long journey back."
Srivaddhanaprabha’s visit will have been most informative. He can be sure, for example, that he has a side capable of winning the title now. With just six matches of the regular season remaining, the fairytale is now so close to becoming reality with Ranieri pleased with the way his players are handling the increasing levels of expectation being placed upon them.
Ranieri believes everyone expected his men to slip yesterday and, while he refuses to talk to about the title at this delicate juncture, it is clear that the belief he has in his squad is quite unshakeable.
"It was a good answer to the Premier League because everybody was waiting for us after the Liverpool v Tottenham draw,” he said. “We gave a very good answer.
"I am very calm. We believe in what we are doing. We believe it's a magical season and believe next season won't be the same.
“We try to do our best. Other teams can win 3-0, 4-0. We have to fight to win 1-0.
“From the beginning, a lot of people said that Leicester would now slip and it was not normal for Leicester to be there. We want to continue. If the others prove better than us, congratulations to them, but we have everything in our hands.
“Southampton played five at the back and wanted to close the space, but we found the space to score a goal. We worked so well.”
The victory was made all the more meaningful by the fact that, exactly one year earlier, Leicester City had started their great escape from relegation with a 2-1 victory over West Ham, going on to win seven of their final nine games to stay up.
Again, they were not at their best, but only goalkeeper Fraser Forster denied them more goals as he stopped Jose Fonte scoring an own goal before saving from Danny Simpson.
Southampton were mostly toothless, but Sadio Mane should have opened the scoring in the first half when Simpson blocked his effort after the forward rounded Kasper Schmeichel.
Defeat dented the Saints' European hopes and boss Ronald Koeman felt Simpson stopped Mane's shot with his arm, while they were also denied a penalty when the ball hit Robert Huth's hand in the penalty area.
"I think we deserved two penalties,” stated Koeman. “That's the third time in a row - Stoke, Liverpool and today – and it was a key moment in the game.
"The chance of Mane is handball off his (Simpson's) arm. It's a penalty and it's a red card. It makes it totally different and the second is the cross of Charlie Austin, defended by handball.
"I asked him (referee Michael Oliver) to see the clip, but it's not allowed for them to see the clip. Maybe if he stays home with his family, he will realise he made a big, big, big mistake."
Ranieri refused to accept Koeman’s assertion, however, that Simpson should have been puinished.
“When Simpson saves the shot, he was running normally,” he said. “He touched the ball with his hand, but it was very close to his side. I think it was not a penalty. The other, I didn't see."
Defeat dented Southampton’s hopes of qualifying for Europe and they were on the back foot from the first whistle with their defence sitting noticeably deep to combat Leicester's counter-attacking threat.
After Mane had failed to convert after rounding Schmeichel just after the half-hour mark, Morgan popped up with the winner seven minutes ahead of the interval when getting in behind Jordy Clasie and heading home a fine delivery from Christian Fuchs from seven yards.
Schmeichel was never troubled throughout the second 45. Simpson could easily have made it 2-0 towards the end when being denied by the former Celtic goalkeeper, Fraser Forster, at the back post after connecting with a Jamie Vardy cross, but that matters little.
Another three points are in the bag, another big step taken on this magical, mesmerising journey.
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