Vardy hits back at Neville and Carragher’s Leicester criticism

Jamie Vardy: Struggled for England

Jamie Vardy: Struggled for England

Jamie Vardy claims Leicester’s players have been subjected to “unfair stick” since Claudio Ranieri’s sacking.

The England striker scored twice in Leicester’s 3-1 victory over Liverpool at the King Power Stadium on Monday night – the first game of the post-Ranieri era.

Ranieri was sacked on Thursday, just nine months after guiding the Foxes to an improbable Premier League title, with the club now embroiled in a relegation scrap.

Senior Leicester players, including Vardy, have rallied against suggestions they plotted the Italian’s downfall since his departure.

However, the likes of both Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have both questioned Leicester’s actions – with the former describing the Foxes’ senior stars of being ‘wholly dishonest’.

But the 30-year-old, who ended a personal Premier League drought which stretched back to December, chose to ignore the critics and believess the win could be a catalyst for the struggling Foxes.

Speaking to Sky Sports, Vardy said: “We’ve come under a lot of unfair stick with the stuff that’s been in the press lately and the lads wanted to put a reaction in.

“The performance showed we wanted to do that but it’s up to us to consistently do that.”

Asked what had gone wrong this season, he added: “I can’t put my finger on it. We’ve been working hard and it’s not been happening but tonight it has all clicked.

“I’ve been very frustrated with the amount of goals I’ve got this season but hopefully those two goals will push me on and there will be more to follow.

“It was definitely a case of (being damned if we did and damned if we didn’t) tonight. We just needed to show we’ve got that fighting intensity.”

Danny Drinkwater, who also got his name on the scoresheet with a stunning volley, said: “It feels good.

“We need to enjoy it while it lasts and build on it from here. It was a reaction, we’ve come in for a bit of stick but it’s a reaction we’ve caused as players.

“We base our game on basics; talking, moving, high pressure, high intensity, and it was about going back to basics and causing mistakes. It caused them problems and we got the three points which we massively needed.

“It’s something to build on, the next game is even more important now.”

 

Shakespeare on Leicester job

 

Craig Shakespeare took over as caretaker manager for the clash against the Reds and did his chances of securing the job on a permanent basis no harm by overseeing Leicester’s first Premier League victory of 2017.

The win also took Leicester out of the relegation zone, but Shakespeare refused to talk up his chances of being in charge for Saturday’s vital game against fellow strugglers Hull.

He said: “My remit was one game, that’s what I said.

“Could I do the job? I think I can. Does it faze me? No. I’ve quite enjoyed the last few days in a way. I’ve been an assistant manager for a long, long time. It’s been different.

“I think it is one game and I’m humble enough to know that. We have to make sure the owners do what’s right for the football club. It’s a question for the owners.”