Football
Conor Coady believes he made a brave decision to quit the Premier League to join Leicester City – and it turned out to be one of the best decisions of his career.
Conor Coady reflects on his bold decision to leave the Premier League for Leicester City, a move that led to promotion and championship glory in the Championship
Image Credit: Sky Bet Championship- Getty Image
The experienced defender left Wolves to secure regular football with the Foxes in the Championship.
And the bold move worked an absolute treat with manager’s Enzo Maresca’s terrific side promoted back to the top flight.
“It’s incredible,” Coady told SportsBoom.com. “To go through a full season like we have, well the boys have been incredible.
“I dropped out of the Premier League to come to Leicester, so to be going back to the Premier League, well it’s justified as well.
“It fills me with pride and, to be honest, I’m not someone who thinks too much about myself.
“But to do it with this club, especially the way we have, has just been brilliant.
“I’ve been lucky enough to play for some fantastic football clubs, I really have, but this one is another one of them.
“From top to bottom, from the owner, the staff, the manager and the players, it’s amazing.
“It’s justified we’ve got promoted. Leicester is a huge football club and I couldn’t wait to get here.”
Coady added: “Our goal at the start of the season was to get promoted as champions – and we’ve gone and done it.
“It was no secret what we wanted to do because that’s what the club needs and where the club has to be.
“The players, the manager and the staff have produced when it’s mattered.
“It’s been an incredible season for us, absolutely fantastic. We’re celebrate well.”
The Foxes secured promotion from the second tier with two games to spare, but a 3-0 demolition of Preston North End at Deepdale on Monday night made sure they were crowned champions.
And 31-year-old centre back Coady, who was on loan at Everton for much of last season, believes the club had to stay focused with so many people tipping them to automatically guarantee their way back into the top flight.
And 31-year-old centre back Coady, who was on loan at Everton for much of last season, believes the club had to stay focused with so many people tipping them to automatically guarantee their way back into the top flight.
“Listen, I think everybody thought we were going to cruise it in February, but it was never ever going to be like that – and we knew that,” stressed Coady, who won promotion with Hull in the 2017-2018 season.
We’ve got an opportunity on Saturday [at home to Blackburn Rovers in their last game of the season] to play a game that you don’t get very often in football.
Connor Coady
“We’ve been fantastic and done what we needed to do, but we can go there and play without any pressure and enjoy the King Power Stadium – and hopefully the supporters enjoy what’s going to happen.
“The supporters pay good money to come and watch us, this is what it’s for.
“Leicester City getting promoted or Leicester City winning anything, well it’s all for the supporters and what they do.
“It’s incredible for them, incredible for us and incredible for the whole football club.
“You’ll have seen the celebrations with the owner [after we got promoted], I can’t get over how close this football club actually is. I think it’s absolutely incredible.
“The boys have been fantastic this year.”
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Neil has been a journalist for longer than he'd care to remember, having written for national newspapers and respected publications for over 25 years. For the last three years he has worked freelance for BBC Sport, working on the production desk as a sub-editor and also as a writer, covering a whole range of sports.