Levein's Comments

[Libertine]

Levein Hails City Heroes

Craig Levein was full of praise for his battling Foxes after they came back from two goals down to post a 3-2 victory over Spurs in the third round of the FA Cup at the Walkers Stadium on Sunday evening.

City had gone into the game as massive outsiders against Martin Jol's side who are currently placed fourth in the Premiership table.

But goals from Elvis Hammond, Stephen Hughes and a last gasp strike from man of the match Mark de Vries secured a place in the fourth round for the Foxes.

He said: "It was a wonderful performance. We put together all the things that are important in a match.

"We have been seeing bits and pieces in games, but we put everything together at once today as we had in the Sheffield United match. We just need to do it more often.

"We have never given up in any of the matches we have played, and tonight we have be rewarded for our hard work.

"We have been working on the mental side of things behind the scenes to try and establish what we need to do in each position to win matches.

"All credit to the players - they have bought into what we have trying to do. Even at 2-0 down they showed remarkable belief and discipline.

"Confidence is everything, but next week is a different type of game. We have got Sheffield Wednesday away from home and we are back in the relegation battle."

Levein Heaps Praise On Striker

Craig Levein singled out striker Mark de Vries as the 'catalyst' following City's remarkable 3-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

The big Dutchman, who joined the Foxes from Hearts last January, put in a man of the match performance against the Premiership giants to help win City a place in the FA Cup fourth round.

And Levein says that de Vries, who has had his critics, was an inspiration to his team-mates on the night.

He said: "I think Mark de Vries had possibly his best performance in a Leicester City shirt. The referee's performance helped him - he allowed the centre back and the centre forward to compete. Mark was the catalyst for everything we did tonight.

"I was thrilled for him to get the winning goal because he has his detractors. The reason for that, I think, is that he can, when he is not performing, look a bit awkward and cumbersome.

"When he is on his game he is a real threat to the best defenders and I saw that regularly when I had him in Scotland.

"He has lacked a bit of confidence since he came down here, but hopefully we can now see many more performances like the one that we have seen tonight."