Steve Cooper admits he is “desperate” to win over the Leicester fans after their frustration boiled over on a tense night at Walsall.
Leicester progressed to the next round of the Carabao Cup, but needed penalties to see off their League Two opponents following a miserable performance. Danny Ward saved all three Walsall penalties as the Foxes triumphed 3-0 on spot-kicks after the match finished 0-0 in normal time.
But Ward’s heroics were not the main takeaway from the match on Tuesday night, with the 2,000 travelling Leicester fans turning on Cooper. The angry supporters chanted: "Cooper, Cooper sort it out” as their side failed to turn 75 per cent possession into anything threatening before shouting “this is embarrassing!” in the final few minutes.
One furious fan even made his way onto the pitch to make his feelings clear by pointing and shouting in his direction. The fan was taken down by Walsall defender David Okagbue before being dragged away by stewards, but his actions showed the ill-feeling towards Cooper, who is already under pressure just seven games into his tenure as manager.
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Asked about the pitch invader, Cooper said: "I didn’t really see it. But I obviously heard the chanting in the crowd and I’ll own that. You’ll never hear me showing any disrespect towards the fans’ opinion of you. That’s what a supporter is, he needs to support his club in how he sees fit.
"I’ve obviously got to build some credit here with the supporters and earn the right to do the job. But I knew that anyway. It’s things like that will make me even more determined to do well because I’m desperate to do that. I’ve absolutely no problem with it."
Leicester’s only two wins of the season have come in the Carabao Cup, with three draws and two defeats in the Premier League, leaving them as one of six sides yet to win in the division. The Foxes hired Cooper as manager after losing Enzo Maresca to Chelsea following their Championship title win and the former Nottingham Forest boss still has plenty to prove ahead of a tough test away to Arsenal on Saturday.
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"It’s maybe nights like this that you can look back on a form a strong relationship, that’s my objective,” he added. "I really want to do well for this club. I’ve bought into what it stands for and the people who work here on the football and non-football side are so well-natured I really want to do well. I take that responsibility seriously. That extends to the supporters as well."
Asked about the negative chants from the fans, he insisted: "It just makes me more determined. I see the guys working so hard. No one said it was going to be easy. It’s not that often you see a newly-promoted team come into this league and hit the ground running and sail away in the Premier League.
"It’s going to be a challenging season. It always is when you get promoted from the Championship. No one is up for it more than me."
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