Tuesday 15 March 2016 12:35, UK
Claudio Ranieri hailed his Leicester players' team spirit after they came through a "difficult match" to beat Newcastle 1-0 at the King Power Stadium on Monday.
Shinji Okazaki's overhead kick in the first half was enough to earn the victory as the Premier League leaders extended their gap over Tottenham to five points at the top of the table.
In Rafa Benitez's first match in charge, Newcastle put in an improved performance following their defeat by Bournemouth last weekend, and Ranieri admitted he anticipated a reaction from the relegation strugglers.
"When you change a manager, players want to show their attitude, and plus, the Newcastle players are very good," Ranieri said. "I am sure at the end they will be safe [from relegation].
"For this reason, I was waiting for a difficult match and it wasn't one of our best performances but we showed our fantastic spirit.
"In the first half, we conceded too many dangerous actions and in the second half, we were a little more concentrated and won the first and second balls. In the first half, we lost so many balls.
"It was important somebody scored the goal and then we defended very well. In this moment, it is important for us to play and to fight."
The visitors had chances to test Kasper Schmeichel in the second half, but failed to break down a stubborn Leicester defence.
When asked if he felt nervous as Newcastle pressed his side back in the latter stages, Ranieri insisted Leicester's second-half performance was better than their opening 45 minutes.
"It wasn't a nervous second half, it was maybe much better in the second half because the team was so close and so compact," he added. "In the first half, they came too many times through the middle and had some good actions.
"Not always did we play well. We played well for example against Aston Villa and West Bromwich but we drew those matches 1-1 and 2-2.
"Now we play not so good as those games but we won. That is important - three points. There are eight matches to go and we continue. Our fans are dreaming and are proud of us. That's important for us and we'll carry on."
The table-toppers face Crystal Palace next at Selhurst Park on Saturday, but with just eight games to go until the end of the season, the Leicester manager says his team are still taking things one game at a time.
"I feel I am very concentrated on the next match against Crystal Palace, and it will be another tough match," he continued.
"Our concentration is important, we are so strong and we think about only one match. Step by step, that is our philosophy."
