Laverys with perfect view as Leicester lift league tile

Dennis Lavery and his son, Matthew, booked tickets six weeks ago for Leicester City’s final home game in a remarkable season that saw the unfashionable club rise to the top of English football for the first time.

City’s climb from relegation candidates to league champions has been hailed in the world of sport as a landmark achievement and triumph of minnows over the money men.

For Matt and his father, Saturday’s experience of sharing that moment when Leicester lifted the Premier League trophy proved priceless.

“My Dad has been a Leicester fan from the 1970s and I really became one around six or seven years old,” said the 29-year-old. “Apart from my Dad, I can only ever remember spotting one other person wearing a Leicester City top in Northern Ireland.

“It was really special to be inside the ground last weekend but the whole day left us with so many amazing memories.

“We arrived around 10 o’clock on the morning of the match due to kick-off at 5.30 and there were already thousands of fans at the stadium.

“We had to queue about an hour to get into the club shop and they basically sold out of small, medium or large sizes of pretty much everything.

“We flew from Dublin and actually missed the flight home that night because of the congestion after the game, with the place in lockdown for miles around the stadium.

“However, we had booked a flight in advance as back-up for the next morning and eventually arrived at the airport around midnight, with our 9.30pm flight long gone, not that we cared.

“There was such a carnival atmosphere around the place, with everyone still in shock at what we have managed to achieve.

“It will really sink in once we play Champions’ League football for the first time next season.

“It is still hard to believe we are league champions.”