London - Leicester City fans were treated to a doughnut and a free beer to celebrate their club chairman's birthday on Sunday but they could all be drinking champagne soon if they complete their remarkable fairytale and win the Premier League title.
Supporters attending the game against Southampton could redeem a voucher that was Thai owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha's thank you to them for their “fantastic support” during the title run which has quite captured English football's imagination.
Sunday's fourth successive 1-0 victory moved them seven points clear of Tottenham Hotspur and with just six matches left British bookmakers William Hill, who made Leicester 5,000-1 no-hopers for the title at the season's start, cut their odds to 1-3.
Leicester have 69 points from 32 matches, followed by Spurs who have 62 from 32. Then come Arsenal (58 from 31), Manchester City (54 from 31) and Manchester United (53 from 31).
It all means Leicester will win their first title no matter what the others do if they win four of their last six matches.
Manager Claudio Ranieri told Sky Sports: “Clean sheet, three points, step by step.
“I enjoy it a lot when we maintain clean sheets. We are dreaming. If we fight we can do something and we must continue. It's important to stay very calm and maintain our feet on the ground.
“But I don't want to think about champions. Although there is a chance for us to be champions this season, we have to be professional.”
However, the cautious Italian did take his eye off the ball for just a moment.
“I said to the players, it's the chairman's birthday, he needs a special present from us. The skipper came back from a long journey with the national team, it's amazing.”
The captain and goalscorer Morgan, who was on international duty with Jamaica last week, found the net for the first time this season with a powerful first-half header which was enough to seal all three points.
He told Sky: “I had been getting a lot of stick from the boys because I had not scored all season so I had to score to shut them up. So, better late than never.”
A year ago to the day, Leicester, then being managed by Nigel Pearson, were seven points from safety at the foot of the Premier League and relegation looked inevitable.
Yet on April 4 last year, their fortunes changed with a 2-1 win over West Ham United.
They ended the season winning seven of their last nine games, losing just once, to avoid relegation even though Pearson was then sacked in the summer to be replaced by Ranieri.
Overall, though, in this past year since that win over West Ham, their league record now reads: played 41, won 27, drawn 10 and lost four.
Susan Whelan, the club's chief executive, was keen to point out how the success of the last year had brought everyone from chairman Srivaddhanaprabha to the fans together.
“There are many special bonds that exist at our football club, between the players, the staff, the owners and the fans and that's been vital to the incredible season we've had,” she told the BBC.
“Everywhere we go, people are talking about it.
“We're entering the run-in to the end of the season now, so that bond is going to be as important as it's ever been in the next games, and the support of our fans is an essential part of the final push.” – Reuters