The struggling Premier League champions were held 1-1 in 90 minutes by the Championship Rams in their FA Cup fourth-round replay, after King’s opener was cancelled out by Abdoul Camara.
But Wilfred Ndidi and Demarai Gray sealed victory in extra-time. “It has been a tough few weeks and we’ve been getting a lot of criticism,” said King. “Tonight we showed the fight we have in the squad.”
Leicester could fall into the bottom three if results go against them this weekend, with the Foxes travelling to Swansea on Sunday.
And King added: “It was important to get a win tonight to try and kickstart some form to take into the league.
“We have 14 massive games left in the league but now we are through in a couple of rounds of the cup. Why can’t we write another story in that?”
Leicester manager Claudio Ranieri, whose side travel to Millwall for the fifth round on February 18, could not disguise his relief after months of poor league results and with his club giving him the dreaded vote of confidence this week.
“In this moment everything goes wrong – but tonight one thing went right. Derby played good football and we won. This is what we needed and I wanted,” he said.
“We want to do well in all competitions. We want to go forward in the FA Cup. The Premier League is not so good but we have to stay in the Premier League. This fresh air is good for the players.”
