I DON’T WANT A VARDY PARTING
Under fire Puel wants striker to stay and learn new tricks
CLAUDE PUEL says he is not trying to kick Jamie Vardy out of the door at Leicester.
Recent pointers seemed to suggest fans’ favourite Vardy could be heading for the exit, but Puel says he is looking to prolong the striker’s Foxes career not finish it.
Vardy’s relationship with his French manager has appeared strained in recent weeks prompting a feeling that if Puel didn’t go, cult hero Vardy would.
The spotlight was firmly fixed on the 31-year-old recently when he was dropped from the starting line-up for the Wembley clash with Tottenham.
It came weeks after the former England striker admitted he was struggling to come to terms with the style of football Puel wants.
Vardy came off the bench and missed a penalty with his first kick before scoring a classy 19-pass goal in the 3-1 defeat. Puel thinks the penny might have dropped and says both Vardy and the team could benefit if he adapts.
Puel said: “Jamie has the potential to continue for a long time . It’s important he continues to improve and have different possibilities. A lot of the time Jamie has played on the counterattack to get the ball behind the back line.
“But when we play a team who play deep, he can’t have the same space. He needs to learn different moves.
“I can see this week he understands. He had a very interesting training session with good moves, good quality and touches. I would like him to continue that way.” Asked if he believed you could teach an old dog new tricks, Puel said: “I have a lot of patience – I am an optimist!”
Puel continues to try and seek a more clinical edge while juggling with a run of bad results which have put him under pressure. The Foxes have lost five of their last six games including the FA Cup defeat at Newport.
Home fans have also been venting their frustration at three successive defeats at the King Power.
But Puel added: “We have created a lot of chances against teams like Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham.”