Super Eagles forward Kelechi Iheanacho has expressed hope and optimism about Leicester City's fate in the Premier League amidst a tough relegation battle.
The 2015 under-17 World Cup winner with the Golden Eaglets is in his sixth year with the club and has become a fan favourite at the King Power Stadium. Despite his exploits, however, “Senior Man”, as he is fondly called, is yet to secure a spot in the first team, only being used frequently in cup matches where he has built a reputation for himself.
Leicester are currently a few goals away from the drop zone. Iheanacho is currently fighting a relegation battle with the rest of the team, a position which the club has not been in since their first season back in English football's top flight.
They have six games remaining and they need a win in four to have a fighting chance. This is a big hurdle for the team led by former Aston Villa manager Dean Smith, who replaced Brendan Rodgers a few weeks ago.
There is belief in the team, however, as echoed by the Super Eagles' forward ahead of their match against Leeds United on Tuesday.
The former Manchester City man spoke after Leicester beat Wolverhampton Wanderers by a narrow margin in their last game to give them a greater goal difference than 18th-placed Everton, with whom they have the same number of points (28). Iheanacho was on the scoresheet in that game.
“I think the win against Wolves gives the fans hope and it gives everyone hope to keep supporting, because so many people had doubted about our qualities, our togetherness and our football, everything,” Iheanacho, who scored his fifth league goal of the season (eight overall) from 25 appearances against Wolves, told Leicester City’s official site.
Iheanacho's eight goal of the season levels things up for Leicester from the penalty spot 🙌 pic.twitter.com/zTIA1Tzf9A
— 90min (@90min_Football) April 22, 2023
“It’s a breath of fresh air. We really dug in well to get the three points. We really worked hard to get them. We have a strong character and obviously when we went a goal down, we didn’t stop pressing, we didn’t stop playing.
“We kept going and kept pushing each other to get the goal. We are really happy, sticking together as a group, doing this together with everybody – the staff, the players and the fans. We’re all proud and hopefully we keep that form in the next game.”
The Foxes have to navigate a tricky fixture schedule that sees them go up against Leeds on Tuesday, before facing off against Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Newcastle United and West Ham United. As stated earlier, four wins will give them a fighting chance as the relegation battle heats up. In reality, the case is rather dire.
All the teams have hit form at the right time with only Leicester, Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea still struggling. Their game against Everton, however, could make the difference as it will keep the Toffees below them, depending on what happens in their match against Newcastle on Thursday.
The team's hopes hinges on that game and in the game of football, hope is all that is needed sometimes.
This article was most recently revised and updated 2 years ago