I am grateful for the support we received from Leicester fans over the last four years
I have had a lot of support from Leicester fans
An absolute gut wrench
My heart goes out to everyone affected
‘They will still fight in vain’
Give as much as you can’
I hope one day they can come back and help us win a trophy
What can I say to the fans of Leicester City?
I can only say a lot of support has been shown to me since I left the club in May. I do not know what to say – it is very hard to say anything to them because I do not know if they do care about me and they may not still care about me. They are some of the best supporters I have ever had in my life. But there is always a question in your mind because these are people who watched me grow up and wanted to see me succeed and to see me make it to the first team. I can not sit here and say I loved them because I didn’t love them. They played a part in my growing up. But after coming to know them better, they can say I am over looking them now because I have got my own family and they are a part of my life now.
After the last few weeks there is a lot of emotion now for both me and the fans. I thought I loved them because I had so much support from them, and that has not changed. But after the last couple of weeks I am hearing people criticising me every day. When the whole of the crowd, including the management and players, was just showing me support, that was lovely. But then when I leave the stadium and it is just hard to understand why everyone is criticising me. People keep trying to question me, which is just horrible. I went away for a few weeks and when I came back everyone was doing the same thing.
I remember saying to the chairman before it all started and it was like a huge mountain I had to climb, that I had to go through this grief. I thought I didn’t even have to go through the funeral to realise what it was like. That was very hard. But I don’t think I have cried since I left the club, that was probably some time ago. It has been hard, but we just need to keep concentrating on football and the fans can help us a lot because they always give us so much support.
Even after what has happened, the support we have had from the supporters has been fantastic. I have had a lot of support from the fans and the players. Even after that interview, I have had a lot of messages from people saying that I looked like I was in pain and this and that. I did look like I was in pain but my legs were supporting me. That is all that matters really. I am grateful for the support we received from Leicester fans over the last four years. I just hope one day they can come back and help us win a trophy. Give as much as you can, whatever you can. Even the owners. The fans always support us, even when we are at our lowest.
The most important thing is to maintain the morale of the lads, and keep the belief that we can go and win some trophies. A couple of weeks ago people were going crazy about me and talking about my transfer, but that was only to the media and not the fans. It was horrible. I did not know what to do with myself. Even when I came back on loan I had no confidence in my ability, I was thinking about my future and the players, what they thought of me. But they have been so supportive and there has been no negativity from the players.
It is not an easy life, but that is what football is all about. Football is sometimes a reality show, but after four years it seems like a bad movie. It is sad but it has to happen sometimes and now the drama is just beginning.