The drumbeat of City’s victory

Alarge, topless, heavily tattooed figure pounding a drum has become iconic at Leicester football matches as the underdog club closes in on the Premier League title.

Shaven-headed Lee Jobber’s back is covered with a large inked crest of Leicester City and his ample stomach bears the words “wide load”.

Come wind, rain or snow, he can be found at the back of the stand beating his large drum.

As he spoke to AFP outside the King Power Stadium, motorists honked their horns in recognition at the club’s official drummer, who is something of a gentle giant despite his fearsome appearance.

Away fans unfamiliar with Jobber initially took him to be a hooligan, but the superfan stressed he was anything but.

The Foxes need just one more win to take the Premier League. For Jobber, it is a fairy tale, having had a season ticket for 32 of his 36 years.

“How do I feel? I don’t know,” he told AFP. “I could never prepare myself, there was no plan for me to feel like this.

“Never in my life would I have even expected to be anywhere near the top 10 of the Premier League, let alone to be guaranteed a finish in the top two,” he said.

“Where has it all come from? I think it’s the unity of this team, and the passion and the pride, you can’t buy that,” he added.

In 2003, a club official called to ask if he would be interested in playing the bass drum. His initial reluctance gave way and he tried it out. It was a revelation.

“I came down and hit the drum and i was like ‘Wow!’. Next thing there were 35,000 sets of eyes on me. I’ve done it ever since.” – AFP