Furious Leicester owner hauls players in for showdown talks over Christmas party and Steve Cooper sacking
LEICESTER CITY owner Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha blew his ‘Top’ at his underperforming players during a tense showdown earlier this week.
The Foxes supremo launched an angry blast at his senior pros over their antics during a Christmas party in Copenhagen on Saturday night, which took place hours after they had lost at home to Chelsea.
Twenty-four hours later Steve Cooper was axed by Srivaddhanaprabha – nicknamed Top – who believed his players had under-performed under the Welshman.
The Thai owner was incensed to discover his players were partying in the Danish capital hours after their latest defeat left them 16th in the table, just one point off the relegation places.
He confronted his players during a hastily convened summit at their Seagrave Training complex on Tuesday.
The usually amiable owner accused his players of letting down Cooper – who lasted just 12 top-flight games – with their under-par performances on their return to the Premier League.
SunSport understands Top was also livid at the antics of his players who were filmed partying in a nightclub – images which then went viral on social media.
In particular he was annoyed by a sign displayed by Leicester players saying: “Enzo I miss u,” a reference to their former boss Enzo Maresca, who had just inspired Chelsea‘s victory over them.
Leicester’s party animals were also pictured in fancy dress at Copenhagen’s Villa Hotel – conduct their owner believed was unbecoming of his highly-paid stars.
Leicester were last night unavailable for comment, although it is believed senior players accepted the criticism and took it on the chin.
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Ruud van Nistelrooy is on the brink of replacing Cooper after impressing during his four games in charge of Manchester United as interim boss following the sacking of Erik ten Hag.
Ironically, two of Van Nistelrooy‘s three victories in charge of United came against the Foxes in the Carabao Cup and Premier League.
However one of his first tasks if he does accept the challenge will be to raise morale which is currently low in the wake of Top’s meeting.