Result is secondary
‘The option not to play will be there’
EXCLUSIVE
NEIL WARNOCK knows how hard it will be for Leicester players and staff at Cardiff this afternoon and has every sympathy, having experienced similar feelings after personal bereavements. For the first fixture since Leicester club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha died in a helicopter crash, Cardiff have printed up a giant banner comprising the badges of both clubs, the Thai flag and the message “RIP Vichai”. It will be borne aloft by home fans in the Ninian Stand and passed on to the away end in a show of solidarity before the game. A wreath will be laid and a minute’s silence observed. Players from both sides will wear black armbands. The game itself, according to Warnock, is “almost irrelevant”. “I know how the whole of Leicester will be feeling,” he said. “For personal reasons, private things I would rather not go into, I have had situations when I have stood on the line and it has not meant anything to me. “Things have gone on family-wise and I have had to take the team when my heart has not been in it – I have armbands today and the atmosphere in Cardiff is sure to be highly charged.
Puel, right, says the result is secondary and the welfare and mindset of his shattered players is the No1 priority.
“The first thing is to listen to my players and to the different feelings,” he added. “I said after this incident we have to understand people and the man, not the player. The player is the second thing. The most important thing is the man.
“From what I’ve seen, I think all the players would like to play and that’s why we wanted the game to go ahead.
“But the option not to play will be there. Although we are a team, it is still a very personal thing.” Leicester’s Carabao Cup clash with Southampton last Tuesday was postponed and they had the option of pulling out of today’s game. But after close consultations with the owner’s widow Aimon, son Aiyawatt, players and staff members, it was decided it was time their best. But this sort of thing affects everybody in different ways and I will have every sympathy with anybody if for whatever reason they are not completely at it.”
Warnock is also aware that his usual fiery touchline antics would be completely inappropriate in the circumstances – not that keeping a lid on things will be an issue.
“I know what I can be like on the touchline and I will have to be careful, but I don’t think it will be a problem,” he said.
“It all feels so eerie at the moment.
“In a real situation like this I don’t think the result matters. I am not sure we can win whatever happens. “And what is three points against everything that has gone on?” to get back to business. The funeral ceremony in Bangkok starts today and goes on for six days and the club are hastily trying to put together a plan that will allow the players to make the 6,000-mile trip to pay their respects.
The Leicester party arrived in Cardiff by coach yesterday after deciding flying to the Welsh capital was not an option given what had happened.