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Cooper pays tribute to Khun Vichai on anniversary

Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha stands on the King Power Stadium pitch holding the Premier League trophy with Claudio Ranieri and son Aiyawatt with the squad celebrating behind them.
[Getty Images]

Leicester boss Steve Cooper has paid tribute to former Leicester City owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha.

It is six years since the chairman died when his helicopter crashed as it left the King Power Stadium, following a 1-1 draw with West Ham.

Nusara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare - and pilots and partners Eric Swaffer and Izabela Roza Lechowicz - also died in the accident.

Under Khun Vichai, who bought the club in 2011, the Foxes stunned the game by winning the Premier League in 2016 for one of the greatest sporting achievements, having started the season as 5,000-1 outsiders.

They went on to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League the following season and under his son and successor, Aiyawatt, Leicester City won the FA Cup for the first time in 2021.

Cooper said: "Even if you don't go looking for it, you find it here [at the training ground] and at the stadium. It is a legacy isn't it - a very much on-going legacy.

"You cannot avoid it because it is everywhere. You can see why this club has achieved what it has - the Premier League, FA Cup and the Champions League.

"It also goes beyond that with some of the feelings and emotions. I can see that because of the way they make you feel, you want to do so well for them.

"They lead through support, encouragement and good will. There is expectation, of course, aswell - so it is not a soft leadership.

"There are other aspects to the fabric of a football club and the ownership is a huge one here. I take that really personally in how I represent that."