What was the expectations for the season ahead?

Yeah, so obviously, going into the, the next season, we lost Ngolo Kante, um, but we had Papy Mendy come in, and then we got Wilfred Ndidi that came in, in the, in the January window.

Um, so we replaced him as best we, we could.

But yeah, I think expectations-wise, I th- I think the good thing about our group, w- we're quite realistic, the players anyway.

You know, we knew we'd just come off the back of a absolutely once-in-a-lifetime, fantastic season, and I think the teams that normally challenge probably wasn't at their best.

So I was under no illusions that the season ahead probably won't be the same.

It'd be good to be up there challenging.

Your entire Leicester career, how do you personally reflect back on it?

Went to Leicester, which was probably at the time not the easiest switch to do.

Yeah, it's very interesting, actually.

So obviously my time at Forest, you know, my hometown club, born and bred Nottingham.

And to be in that team, playing for that club is a big, big deal.

You know, lots of my family and friends all support Forest.

And it was a real privilege and an honour to represent the club, especially for so long, you know, playing over 400 games, being at the club nine and a half years.

But I've always had my own ambitions.

so then it obviously come to the everton game at home everyone was there everyone but for you because i know we spoke about it before you'd proper thought about it like how you was going to lift the trophy getting your hands on it for that first time

But now our goal is fight every match how was the last match.

I think Claudio did great there, you know, with, um, kinda keeping that pressure off the boys.

Everyone wanted...

Well, all the media, the news, wanted that kinda punchline headline, you know.

What can you do this season? Can you win the league? The message was, from Claudio, "No, we're just gonna try and get to 40 points," you know.

That's, that's the big target.

And yeah, it wasn't that message exactly inside the dressing room, but at the same time, we knew the task.

Let's look at Jamie Vardy and co watching.

Yeah

...

it was tough because, especially for me, you know, Nigel brought me in.

You know, he gave me the c- captain's armband after six months, you know? Um, so me and Nigel was quite close, you know.

I think he saw a lot of kinda himself in me in terms of my style of play and, and my character.

Um, so yeah, to see him go was, w- was difficult.

Um, and I was away on international duty at the time, so it wasn't as if I was, as if I was, you know, in and around the club or in the city, and like I'm hearing the news.

Every time a result comes in, and we're on the phone, aren't we? And-

How was that experience for you?

Yeah, incredible.

You know, I've gone into that season knowing it's probably my final season.

You know, um, I was suffering with a lot of injuries, and I wasn't featuring as much.

You know, you could see it coming in terms of, you know, you're not starting as much games, you're on the bench a lot more, and then all of a sudden you're not in the squad.

And to be fair, I've had a, a long career.

Um, and yeah, my body was falling to pieces, to be fair, at that point, but at the same time, you know, you're still in and around, you're still enjoying it.

Thank you, Wes.

Everybody must have been talking about it, though, 'cause presumably you were with players who may have had some association with him at Chelsea or...

Uh, no.

Literally, like I'm away, I'm on the other side of the world.

Um, obviously I can see what's happening at Leicester, you know, with Pearson going, and then you obv- y- obviously you're thinking, "Right, who's coming in? What's gonna happen?" But I didn't get like a, a call or indication like, "Wes, just to let you know, um, we're bringing this guy in.

Um, we're gonna announce it at this time." I think everyone was kept in the dark, uh, to a certain degree.

So when I saw that happen, I was like, "Ooh, that's interesting," because-I knew what Claudio had done in the past.

Um, I wasn't sure about his kind of capabilities from this point on.

Did you still maintain that belief that you got from those two games through the defeat at Arsenal and that late winner, the manner of that defeat, the late winner from Danny Welbeck?