Leicester City captain Wes Morgan insists the team always believed in its chances of completing its astounding Premier League title triumph.
Claudio Ranieri's side lifted the trophy after a 3-1 win over Everton on Saturday, ending a week of celebrations in suitable style in front of a packed King Power Stadium. The manager claimed afterwards that he felt as though it had a real chance of winning the title after the 3-1 win over Manchester City and narrow 2-1 defeat to Arsenal in February, a game in which it played the majority of the second half with 10 men.
Morgan, however, says the players never allowed thoughts of a possible collapse to enter their minds, despite plenty of doubters from around the country.
"I'm emotionally drained, it's an unbelievable feeling," he told Sky Sports after lifting the trophy. "I had to hold back the tears walking to the podium. It's the best feeling in the world. Everyone's been going on about how I'm going to lift it, is it heavy, will I drop it - it's put a bit of pressure on me, to be honest!"
"It's unbelievable, it's hard to describe. It's like a dream, but now a reality. We've always believed, it's the people around us who didn't. But we knew we were as good if not better than all the others on our day. It's about concentrating, ignoring what's around us."
"We're such a tight bunch of guys, we do everything together, there's no egos among us. It's a big big season next season but right now we just want to enjoy the moment. I don't know what the Champions League feels like but I'll enjoy every minute of it."
Leicester goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel exchanged heated words with his defenders after Kevin Mirallas scored a late consolation in Saturday's victory over a disappointing Everton.
And the 29-year-old, who celebrated the title win with father Peter - a five-time champion with Manchester United - believes that level of determination has set Leicester apart throughout the season.
"I can't quite believe I'm standing here, it's absolutely amazing," he told Sky Sports. "This is what dreams are made of. It's hard to put into words. It's a beautiful trophy, it was a tough game today, knowing we'd be presented with it, we had to focus and I thought we played absolutely fantastic, it's a testament to our character."
"We were disappointed today because we conceded a goal and missed a lot of chances. but that's the type of group we are. We were raging when we let the goal in, all the defenders were screaming."
"You can see everywhere we go, we've had a fantastic response, we've had standing ovations at numerous grounds - that brings you goose bumps."
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