Leicester chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha has promised to bring his club back to the Premier League as the former champions accept relegation.
Leicester were condemned to second place on Sunday after Everton’s 1-0 win over Bournemouth rendered the Foxes’ 2-1 victory over West Ham irrelevant.
They are only the second former Premier League champions after Blackburn to be relegated from the top flight.
Leicester’s fairytale title success seven years ago seems a distant memory as they face a first season in the Championship since 2014.
It’s a remarkable fall from grace and Srivaddhanaprabha claimed angry fans sent him offensive messages calling on him to sell the club.
But the Thai businessman insisted he would remain in charge and promised to get Leicester back on track next season.
“I have received a tremendous number of messages from our fans, both positive and negative,” Srivaddhanaprabha said in a statement posted on Leicester’s website.
“Some want me to sell the club, some use offensive and thoughtless words, and some have been downright abusive.
“But for every hurtful message I’ve received, I’ve also received messages of support, appreciation, unity, distance and from people I’ve met anonymously in public, who always come Saying hello to me and my family means a lot to us.”
Srivaddhanaprabha’s father, Vichai, and his family bought Leicester in 2010.
Club chairman Khun Vichai was killed in a helicopter crash at King Power Stadium in 2018.
“It was the most painful experience for me and my family, but the support and love we received from our Leicester City family made our bond even stronger,” Srivaddhanaprabha said.
“I am committed, as chairman, to pursuing the ambition that my father and I shared for the club, to ensure that the realization of his vision for Leicester City would ultimately become his legacy.
“Next season is going to be tough, but it will be a year of collaboration and unity. We will come together and fight to get back to the Premier League.”
– “A lot of changes” –
Srivaddhanaprabha added: “Relegation is a consequence of 38 games and in that period we haven’t been good enough.
“Today we share the loss and pain together. But we will be back.”
A large number of players, including Jonny Evans and Youri Tielemans, are out of contract and are expected to leave King Power Stadium at the end of the season.
England midfielder James Maddison and talented winger Harvey Barnes are set to be sold to help balance expected financial losses of at least £60m ($74m).
Leicester boss Dean Smith also faces an uncertain future, with his short-term contract set to expire after replacing Brendan Rodgers in April.
Former Manchester United centre-back Evans, 35, has revealed the Leicester side have said goodbye in the dressing room ahead of a likely exodus at the end of the season.
“It’s a tough thing to take. There was a long silence in the locker room afterwards. We know there are a lot of players out of contract,” he said.
“There are going to be a lot of changes in the football club.
“It was an opportunity for everyone to really say goodbye. A lot of us don’t know where we’re going to end up.
“I’ve told the boys it’s been an incredible five years, but now the club have some decisions to make.”
smg/ea