Leicester City boss Claude Puel has expressed his pride after watching his team battle to an emotional 0-0 draw against Burnley at the King Power Stadium.
The Foxes were returning home for the first time since a helicopter crash saw five people lose their lives, with one of those being club chairman Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha. The day was a poignant one for the hosts as they paid tribute to their adored chairman, as well as remembering those who fought in World War I and all conflicts since.
'It was important to honour our chairman'
Puel was full of praise for his players after they put on a positive performance on an extremely testing occasion.
Speaking to LCFCTV, he said: "It was our first game at home. It was important to honour our Chairman with our fans, together, and to give our very best in this game.
“I am proud of our performance because it was a brilliant performance, after a fantastic first half with a lot of chances, without the success of scoring.
"It was a fantastic emotion, also, after the game with Top. Around the pitch, together, to honour Vichai. It’s a fantastic response from Vichai’s family.”
'I am proud of the players'
The Foxes started the game brilliantly on home soil as Jamie Vardy had a chance cleared off the line, before Rachid Ghezzal hit the bar with a diving header and Demarai Gray was denied one-on-one by Joe Hart.
They were not quite able to replicate that level of performance in the second-half but the Frenchman suggested he understood the reasoning considering the squad's energy-sapping trip to Thailand to pay their respects.
Puel said: “We knew it would be a tough game to prepare. It was not possible to train a lot of times after a long trip to Thailand for Vichai’s funeral.
“After, it was important also to find the right balance between our emotion and our professional attitude on the pitch. I am proud of the players, they played a good game.
“We deserved to win this game. We conceded just one chance – a set piece in the first half – but that is football sometimes. We gave our very best.”