O'Neill compares 'extraordinary' Leicester to Clough's Forest

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Claudio Ranieri's Leicester City are comparable to Brian Clough's Nottingham Forest, says former Foxes manager Martin O'Neill.

Former Leicester City manager Martin O'Neill has compared Claudio Ranieri's side to Brian Clough's double European Cup-winning Nottingham Forest team.

O'Neill, who led Leicester to two League Cups, believes their story is "extraordinary", with the Foxes needing a win at Manchester United on Sunday to seal the most remarkable of Premier League title triumphs.

Forest won the league title the first year after their promotion and went on to lift the European Cup in both 1979 and 1980 with a team starring O'Neill, who understands how Ranieri must be feeling.

"It kind of reminds me in some aspect of Nottingham Forest in 1977 and 1978 where we came up and swept all before us and it was great to be part of that," O'Neill told RTE Sport.

"So I know exactly how the Leicester players are feeling, if I can think back that far and I certainly know how the manager is feeling.

"It is an extraordinary story, the story of the century. It's incredible in this day and age that they can pip the likes of Arsenal, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, it's incredible."

The Republic of Ireland manager also looked back on his own "special" time at Leicester, which included promotion to the Premier League.

"Of course I had an involvement and I had great time there, four particularly special years," O'Neill added.

"The torch passes on and their story is remarkable."