With Leicester City dropping points at home last weekend to Slaven Bilic's West Ham United, the pressure was on Claudio Ranieri's Foxes to pick up a win this time around.
The Italian then would have been overjoyed with the response of his team against Swansea City as they earned a big 4-0 victory and extended the gap at the top of the Premier League to eight points (ahead of Tottenham Hotspur's match against West Bromwich Albion on Monday night). Not only that however, but the 64-year-old also revealed his satisfaction at the performance of his fringe players in the East-Midlanders' biggest win of the season.
"Delighted"
Talking to Leicester City's official website (lcfc.com) after the game, Ranieri stated that he was "delighted" and "happy" with the way his players approached the match after a difficult week. Also paying plenty of credit to his squad's "very good team spirit" and "character", the former Chelsea boss seemingly found it difficult to hide his pleasure at not only the result but the scintillating performance that his team put on for the King Power Stadium faithful.
As a matter of fact, the exuberant Italian even went as far as congratulating his players on a "great" performance after a week of considerable media pressure following the Foxes' draw against West Ham last week.
Also highlighting the importance of a quick start, Ranieri stated that he was pleased to see "an early goal" and the fact his team "pressed" their visitors throughout the 90 minutes - a key component in their dominant victory over the Swans.
"We have a team"
The Italian continued his positive recount of the game even further by also drawing special attention for the players brought into the side for the game against Francesco Guidolin's men. With Jamie Vardy suspended for the match following his red card last weekend, Leonardo Ulloa and Jeffrey Schlupp were called into the XI and Ranieri was pleased with the impact the pair had (especially with the forming netting a brace).
Stating that he said to his players "we have to play as 11", the experienced campaigner was delighted to see his fringe players step up and produce a dominant performance when it mattered most. He concluded by suggesting that they "have a team" regardless of who turns out on the day again reaffirming his positive opinion of the Foxes' performance.