Leicester's Ranieri upbeate despite FA Cup exit

Leicester fell to a 2-0 defeat in their third-round replay thanks to a sumptuous strike from Son Hueng-min and Nacer Chadli's slotted finish, but the setback could not dampen the spirit of their manager.

(Reuters)

"It's fantastic," Ranieri told the club website (www.lcfc.com) of his team's record against Spurs.

"It's a minimum of 10 years that Tottenham are building their team to reach the Europa League and Champions League zone. We've just started our journey and we are fighting with them.

"I think we've made a very fantastic step, because in four matches against Tottenham, we've won one, lost one and drawn two."

The Italian said Tottenham were deserved winners on the night, but pointed out that Leicester were more focused on the Premier League, where they sit in second place, five points and two places above Spurs.

"Of course our priority was and is the league. Now we have to play against another good team in Stoke City (on Saturday)," he added.

(Reporting by Simon Jennings in Bengaluru; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)