Leicester players partied and sent damning message to Steve Cooper hours before his sacking

Leicester City's players partied just hours before Steve Cooper was eventually given his marching orders.

The ex-Nottingham Forest boss was given just 12 games before the loss to Chelsea proved to be the final straw for the hierarchy. The Foxes players' opted to head off to Copenhagen for a party following their latest reverse with Ekstra Bladet posting footage of them.

Danish stars Jannik Vestergaard and Victor Kristiansen were among those present and they made it clear that they still longed for former boss Enzo Maresca, who led them to promotion last year and then left for Chelsea, leading to Leicester appointing Cooper.

On their night out they had a sign which read "Enzo, I miss you" - a damning reflection on the previous man in the dugout, who only won two of the games he was in charge for before being given the boot.

Mirror Football reported that Cooper's sacking was largely driven by the mood inside the camp with several of the players not convinced he was the man to keep them up. That is despite him managing to keep Nottingham Forest in the top flight previously.

That feeling began to become clear to those up above and they made the decision, less than a third of the way through the season, to move on the man they'd hired in the summer. Chairman and owner Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha was present at the game against Chelsea and it is understood that he was aware of the internal grumbling.

The 44-year-old manager hadn't been able to win over the squad and fans were equally unconvinced. Even after recent wins at the King Power Stadium the mood was largely unchanged.

Image: Chris Lee - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images) Chris Lee - Chelsea FC/Chelsea FC via Getty Images)

Early frontrunners for the vacancy include ex-Chelsea boss Graham Potter, former Manchester United and West Ham boss David Moyes whilst West Brom ’s Carlos Corberan is a slightly left-field option. Leicester are keen to make a quick appointment ahead of crunch games against Brentford and West Ham.

A statement from the club read: “Leicester City Football Club has parted company with Steve Cooper, who leaves his position as First Team Manager with immediate effect.

“Assistant Manager Alan Tate and First Team Coach and Analyst Steve Rands have also left the Club. Steve, Alan and Steve depart with our thanks for their contribution during their time with the Club and with our best wishes for the future.”

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