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Steve Cooper reacts to criticism from Leicester fans and pitch invader confronting him

Steve Cooper reacts to criticism from Leicester fans and a pitch invader confronting him during the cup clash against Walsall.

The pitch invader made his way towards the dugouts, shouting and pointing before eventually being knocked down by Walsall’s David Okagbue, before stewards came in, wrestled then eventually got a hold and took him away.

This happened with 16 minutes left to play, with the scoreline goalless. Leicester ended up being taken to penalties by the League Two side, with the Foxes winning 3-0.

You can see the pitch invader in the videos below…

Cooper said after the game: “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.”

Cooper on trying reassure fans: “It’s maybe nights like this that you can look back on a form a strong relationship – that’s my objective.

“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.”

On vocal criticism: “It just makes me more determined.

“I see the guys working so hard. No one said it was going to be easy.

“I’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.”

Michael Beardmore (BBC Sport at Poundland Bescot Stadium): Cooper, sort it out, Cooper, Cooper, sort it out.

“Leicester’s travelling support unhappy with what they’re witnessing – and you can’t blame them.

“Their League Two hosts – 56 places below the Foxes in the pyramid – have bossed the opening few minutes of the second half.

“There’s an intruder on the pitch at the Poundland Bescot Stadium.

“Not sure what he was trying to accomplish but a Leicester fan evades the stewards, only to run right into big Walsall defender David Okagbue, who, let’s say, didn’t exactly move out of the way.

“Only one winner there. But we are still no closer to knowing which of these teams will be the winner tonight – although Leicester have brought on Jordan Ayew in a statement of intent.”

Sky Sports‘ Patrick Rowe: “Steve Cooper addressed the chants made by the Leicester fans and rightly stated that they were entitled to their opinions.

“He promised to field a ‘strong’ line-up prior to the game – and delivered on that promise – but this talent and experience failed to translate to a respectable performance on the pitch.

“Sloppy passes, a laborious attacking display and little impact from the bench all point towards a worrying effort from Leicester.

“The Carabao Cup may not be their main focus this season but they could have taken confidence from a dominant performance against opponents from a lower league.

“Instead, this game has only cast more doubts in the minds of the fanbase and possibly the players, who are now staring down the barrel of an away trip to the Emirates Stadium this weekend.

“On the other hand, Sadler’s side can take encouragement and confidence going into the rest of the 2024/25 campaign after this showing against Premier League opposition.

“The League Two side took the game to Leicester in the first half and would have gone into the break leading if it was not for an impressive Ward save to deny Lakin. The Saddlers will likely be quite happy to see the back of the Foxes ‘keeper after this fixture.

“Chances followed in the second half and on any other day, Walsall complete the Carabao Cup upset that they deserved.

“They currently sit in third place within the fourth tier of English football – but if they play like that in every game, they will not be there for long.”

This is what Twitter users had to say after Steve Cooper reacts to criticism from Leicester fans and a pitch invader confronting him…

@lcfczt: Sigh he’s making me feel bad

@joncrabbe: Out of his depth, should never have been appointed.

@DJREMSTER: As bad as this result was and cooper is responsible this is the exact right attitude to have.

@RoggyLCFC: We’ve had 5 damn games as a promoted team and we’re 2 points above the bottom 3. At this stage considering the fixtures we’ve had, I would’ve taken that all day. Back the manager & get a grip. All of you utter mongs think changing now is the right thing. Judge him after Ipswich.

@alexburrows148: Hopefully he knows how embarrassing that was and does something about it

@LCFCshitposting: Everytime I hear Cooper speak he sounds so genuine and seems to have a great attitude / mindset. Unfortunately his football is absolutely honking.

@lcfcgeorgee: He speaks well and I think people want to like him (I think anyway) but I can’t keep watching this football every week

@Watto_T: Totally agree, very impressed with him every time he speaks, unfortunately speaking to the press doesn’t win football matches

@alex_lcfcok: Give me back sir Nigel Pearson telling fans to fuck off and die instead of this cuck

@Aaron_Howells: The pitch invader running over to tell Cooper his thoughts wins MOTM for me. 2nd game in a row, with 2 deferent starting XI’s and we’ve not got going. Poor, very poor. Concerning. #LCFC

@jhandford11: Choudhury running after the pitch invader was the quickest I’ve seen him move #LCFC

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