WE’VE GOT THIS VARDY RESTARTED
Shakespeare: Jamie was right to turn his back on Arsenal and now he is banging in the goals again
JAMIE VARDY was right to snub Arsenal and is now in a “purple patch” according to Leicester City boss Craig Shakespeare.
The England striker had a chance to join the Gunners last summer when they activated his £20million release clause. But Vardy, 30, opted to remain with the champions on a new fouryear £100,000-a-week deal, only to suffer a poor first half of the season under Claudio Ranieri. But since Shakespeare (below) replaced the Italian, Vardy has eight goals in 11 games and ahead of tonight’s game at Arsenal, the Foxes boss said: “Thankfully he chose us. “All players will go through peaks and troughs, they just have to stay mentally tough, which Jamie did. “Players can’t think, ‘If I have one bad game maybe I made the wrong decision’. “It’s about rolling your sleeves up and making sure you turn those indifferent performances into good performances. “The Jamie that we’re seeing out there at the moment is full of confidence and a goal threat as well. “He’s banging in the goals and we need that to continue to the end of the season.” Vardy’s recent heroics helped City ou t of the bottom three and into the Champions League quarter-finals. Shakespeare added: “I am reluctant to say he is back to his best as I want more from him, but his goalscoring of late has been very good. “Strikers go through purple patches, then there are the dark times when whatever they hit doesn’t go in. At the moment, you see a player full of confidence and full of running. “We need that to continue because we need a Jamie Vardy threatening defenders, getting on their shoulders and being a goal threat as well.” Leicester return to Arsenal for the first time since losing last February to a lastminute Danny Welbeck goal after Danny Simpson was sent off. Then boss Ranieri gave all Leicester’s players and staff the week off afterwards. They returned to go unbeaten for the rest of the campaign en route to the title. Shakespeare reflected: “It probably was a pivotal moment. It was good psychology because they came back refreshed.” Some of City’s stars went to Dubai, but Shakespeare added: “I didn’t go away, I tidied the garage and took the dog for a walk.”