Leicester City manager Claudio Ranieri may finally be admitting his side are in with a chance of nicking the Premier League when he said he wants to run ‘very, very fast’ to the Premier League title and not look back after the Foxes moved five points clear at the top of the Premier League with a 1-0 win at Watford on Saturday – a result which saw them backed into evens in the Premier League winners market.
But having begun the season expecting a battle relegation, Ranieri believes that with just nine games to go there is no pressure on his players to see the job through.
“I don’t want to know who’s behind us, I just want to run very, very fast,” he told Saturday Night Football.
“I tell my players that every game is a final. I don’t know how many points. At the end of the first part of the season when we achieved 39 points, I said I wanted to achieve one more. 79? I don’t know if that will be enough but I will be happy. Of course now we are running for something special – why not?”
The victory marks a remarkable turnaround for Leicester who, at the same stage last season, were seven points from safety rooted firmly to the bottom of the league.
City don’t have to face any of their title rivals in the run-in and have a favourable fixture list coming up that sees them take on Newcastle (h), Crystal Palace (a), Southampton (h) and Sunderland (a) in their next four games.
“This is a good moment for us but there are nine matches left,” Ranieri said.
“Again we have to fight. Every match now is very difficult and will be a battle, not only for us but for all teams in the league as there are teams that want to achieve the Premier League, Champions League and Europa League. It will be a fantastic end to the season.”
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