Brendan Rodgers has admitted that he is 'so happy' for Newcastle United supporters after the Leicester City boss witnessed the rebirth of one of the most 'iconic football clubs in Britain' during his side's 2-1 defeat on Sunday. Much-changed Leicester actually took the lead at St James' Park through Ademola Lookman in the 19th minute but, crucially, Newcastle did not fold as the Magpies did in the reverse fixture back in December.
Bruno Guimaraes duly equalised on the half-hour mark before the Brazil international dramatically won the game for Newcastle in the 95th minute with a diving header to take the roof off St James'. Perhaps, it is not a surprise that Eddie Howe has picked up 69% of his points to date at home given the remarkable atmosphere the Newcastle head coach has tapped into in recent months.
Rodgers has certainly never seen St James' quite like this - all of the Northern Irishman's previous visits came during the Ashley era - and the Leicester boss was keen to pay tribute to a 'fantastic fanbase' after the game.
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"Listen, I'm so happy for the people here and the supporters," Rodgers told reporters. "There's always a great feeling I think when you come here.
"It's one of the cities and grounds that I've really enjoyed coming to, whether it's with Swansea or Liverpool or Leicester, so it's great for the supporters because the passion here is incredible.
"Eddie's come in and made a very good start, and made some really good signings in January. It gives a great hope to the support.
"I'm pretty sure they'll look to build on it in the summer, but this is one of the iconic football clubs in Britain and I think everyone would feel if you can get it going here, it's going to be a special place.
"Great atmosphere in the game - we're just disappointed with the result - but, performance wise, we were good and congratulations to Newcastle."
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