FA Cup: Leicester's Brendan Rodgers 'embarrassed' by Nottingham Forest exit

«Awful, embarrassing and a lack of hunger.»

As Leicester City's reign as FA Cup holders came to a tame end, humiliated 4-1 in the fourth round by second-tier local rivals Nottingham Forest, Foxes boss Brendan Rodgers was in no mood to hold back.

«Our players have to look at themselves in the mirror and prove they are good enough to be here,» said Rodgers.

«A lot of players have to improve. It was an awful performance, I have to apologise to the fans, we needed physicality and authority and lacked it.

»There was a lack of hunger and you get destabilised when you make errors. That's the first time since I've been here that I was embarrassed."

It is a far cry from May, when Leicester beat Chelsea 1-0 thanks to Youri Tielemans' brilliant 25-yard strike as the Foxes won the FA Cup for the first time in their history.

In an attempt to inspire his players, Rodgers said he had brought the trophy into a team meeting earlier this week «so they could see what we went through last year and provide that motivation».

But, at a packed, boisterous City Ground and in the first East Midlands derby between these two clubs in almost eight years, Forest — aided by some woeful Leicester defending — fully deserved a win that could have been by a wider margin.

The Foxes only had two shots on target all match and conceded three times in a crazy nine-minute first-half spell, with goals from Philip Zinckernagel, Brennan Johnson and Joe Worrall.

A goalkeeping error from Brice Samba gifted Leicester a goal back through Kelechi Iheanacho, but the three-goal lead was restored when Djed Spence grabbed the hosts' fourth.

Rodgers, who has guided Leicester to successive fifth-placed finishes in the Premier League although they sit 10th this season, says complacency