Wilfred Ndidi has revealed that he and his team-mates at Leicester City including fellow Nigerian compatriot, Kelechi Iheanacho want to win more trophies after their FA Cup success.
Ndidi and Iheanacho created a piece of their own history with Leicester by helping the Foxes to win their first ever FA Cup after beating Chelsea 1-0 in the final at Wembley Stadium.
Ndidi was in the starting eleven for Leicester and also saw the game through to the end as a sensational Youri Tielemans strike and an agonising VAR call saw the club lift the trophy.
Meanwhile, Iheanacho had a major contribution in Leicester winning the competition after he scored four goals and weighed in with one assist in six FA Cup appearances during the season.
The duo of Ndidi and Iheanacho have done enough to join the long list of Nigerians who have now won the prestigious English FA Cup totalling nine players from the West African country.
The Foxes concluded the 2020/21 campaign in fifth place in the Premier League and they are now back preparing for the new season, the club’s eighth year on the bounce in the top-flight.
Ndidi says Leicester’s players are determined to put the work in during pre-season to give them the best possible opportunity to enjoy even much more success across the up-coming season.
Testing drills and light ball work has been on the agenda during the first week which Ndidi admits is always a challenge but he is delighted to be back with his team-mates after over a month away.
“It has been tough and it has been really good,” he told LCFC TV. “After the break, we need the pre-season. We are used to it, so it is normal for us but I have really missed playing games.
“It is just one month or so, so being back and starting training with the lads, just running and playing football, it feels refreshing. It is really nice.
“It has been great because being away from these lads for over a month, coming back to see them with great smiles and everyone is happy, it is really good.
“Seeing everyone happy and ready to go, it is really good, as a team and as a family. I look forward to what is coming ahead. In pre-season, we take it slowly.
“We don’t rush into playing games. It’s training in order to play the games, to get the muscles going and the cobwebs out. It’s just something we’re planning. Slowly, slowly, we’ll be ready for the games.”
Many of City’s players experienced glory for the first time in their Leicester journeys last term as Brendan Rodgers’ men won the FA Cup and Ndidi says the squad are fully aware of what went well and what didn’t last season.
The 24-year-old believes that will be a motivating factor this year. “Now we’re just putting in the work,” he added. “We’re beginning to get our fitness and trying to look ahead to the games. We’ve always known [Rodgers’] philosophy and everything.
“We know our targets. We, as players, we know what we want as a group. We know what we want to achieve and I think it’s something that we all look forward to.
“I’m really proud of the group with what we achieved last season. It was a really great feeling. Some of the players weren’t here when Leicester won the league, which was a great, great feeling, and the players who weren’t here then, we have a feeling of actually winning something.
“It’s an incredible feeling and it’s something we want to push and look forward to having that feeling again. It’s really great. It’s something we push for and we’ll see what comes out of this season.”