Wes Morgan has been 'at the centre' of Leicester’s Premier League title challenge this season, according to former Foxes defender Gerry Taggart.
Leicester captain Morgan has been ever-present at the heart of Leicester's defence this term and notched his first goal of the campaign when he headed home the winner in the Super Sunday victory over Southampton.
No player has blocked more shots than Morgan over the last two seasons in the Premier League and Taggart says the former Nottingham Forest man has been an integral part of Leicester's astonishing run of form this year.
"We signed Wes a few years ago and he's just improved year-on-year," Taggart told Sky Sports Now on Sky Sports News HQ.
"He leads by example as the captain and the added responsibility of being captain has helped him, there is no doubt about that.
"He is now at the centre of everything. He makes sure the dressing-room is run properly and all the players are doing what they should be doing. They have all gone from strength to strength and he has been at the centre of that."
Morgan and centre-back partner Robert Huth have kept 19 Premier League clean sheets between them since Leicester's promotion back to the top flight two years ago.
And Taggart credits former Chelsea man Huth with helping elevate the Jamaica international's game to another level.
"The one thing you need in a back four is a leader. You need a talker, a communicator if you will, and Wes has been unbelievable at that," the former Northern Ireland international said.
"But I think he's also had a lot of help from Robert Huth, who has helped him simplify his game. He was prone to making the odd silly mistake - especially in the season when they went up from the Championship - but he's cut them out his season and concentrated on being a good defender.
"I think that is partly down to Robert Huth."
Former Premier League winner Tony Gale feels the duo are a perfect foil for one another.
"The two centre-backs have been so important because they have played most of the games for Leicester," Gale said.
"It's not about individuals when you are playing centre-back it's about how you complement one another and they complement each other really well.
"They are unfussy about their play. They want to head it, they want to kick it, they want to clear their lines and they don't want to over-complicate things by passing it through their midfield.
"Both of them are good out-and-out defenders."
Leicester's win over Southampton was their fourth 1-0 victory in succession as they went seven points clear of closest rivals Tottenham.
Sir Alex Ferguson told Sky Sports last week how important winning by a single goal can be for a team with title aspirations and ex-Foxes striker Tony Cottee insists grinding out victories is how you win the league.
"You've got to do what Leicester are doing and that's get your 1-0 results. It's so much about results now rather than performances," he said.
"If you look at Chelsea last season, they played some really great stuff in the early part of the season but then they had to grind out the 1-0 wins.
"Every team that has ever won the league has done that - the great Liverpool teams and Manchester United teams of the '80s and '90s.
"That's what Leicester are doing now."