Tomas Soucek says he avoided usual celebration out of respect for death of Leicester owner | OneFootball

Tomas Soucek revealed he did not celebrate his goal against Leicester in his customary fashion out of respect for the Foxes.

The West Ham midfielder usually marks scoring a goal by spinning around with his arms outstretched like a helicopter.

But Soucek was mindful of the death of Leicester owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha and four others in a helicopter crash after a match against West Ham at the King Power Stadium in 2018.

The Czech international told his club’s website: “I didn’t think my normal helicopter celebration was the right thing to do, because of what happened to the Leicester owner.

“I wanted to celebrate my goal with my team, but I also wanted to show respect to our opponents.”

Soucek was gifted the opening goal on his 30th birthday by sloppy Leicester defending.

“A great birthday gift for me – I couldn’t wish for anything more,” he said.

“I always want to be important on the pitch, and with the goals as well, so I always try to score. Then, I try to defend the result in the rest of the game, to make sure we come out on top.”

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Leicester City built a statue of former owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha outside the King Power Stadium following his death (Joe Giddens/PA) (PA Wire)

Jannik Vestergaard deflected Jarrod Bowen’s shot into his own net before half-time to condemn Leicester to a 2-0 defeat, their 11th in 12 matches, to deepen their relegation worries.

The Foxes remain five points from safety and boss Ruud van Nistelrooy knows they need a shift in mindset to stand any chance of survival

“It’s that mentality I have to be able to implement in the squad,” he said. “To convince them that by taking the initiative and going out there to win is the way forward, not to try not to lose.”

West Ham, who shocked Arsenal 1-0 on Saturday, made it back-to-back Premier League wins for the first time since March, signs that new boss Graham Potter is starting to make his mark.

“Really pleased for the players,” said Potter. “They’ve been working hard, so it’s nice to get the reward of the points.

“The clean sheet was important as well. It’s something we’ve tried to improve. It wasn’t champagne football. But, overall, delighted for the players.”