Ranieri stands by misfiring Vardy
LEICESTER MANAGER Claudio Ranieri insists he still has faith in Jamie Vardy despite the England forward’s Premier League goal drought stretching to three months.
Vardy drew a blank for the 16th consecutive game as the champions’ disastrous title defence suffered its latest blow with a 2-1 defeat at lowly Sunderland yesterday to leave the Foxes just two points above the relegation zone.
Vardy scored for England in the 2-2 friendly draw with Spain at Wembley in November.
But the 29-year-old, whose prolific run in front of goal helped to propel Leicester to their stunning success in May, has failed to find the net for his club since scoring at Liverpool on Sept 10, and boasts only four goal so far this term.
Japan’ forward Shinji Okazaki claimed a late consolation as Leicester were condemned to a fifth defeat in nine games with a struggling Vardy (caricature) again looking a shadow of the player of last season, when he claimed 28 goals.
Asked if the time had come to take Vardy out of the firing line, Ranieri insisted: “For me, Jamie works hard for the team, and although of course the goals are important, I believe in him. Sooner or later, he’ll start scoring goals again.”
Ranieri refuted claims Leicester’s Premier League worries could be put down to them overly focusing their efforts on their maiden Champions League campaign.
They have already clinched their place in the knockout stages as they bring the curtain down on their group stage games with the midweek trip to Portuguese side Porto, and City’s Italian boss said: “I think our levels have been the same in the Premier League as in the Champions League.
“It just seems that in the Premier League our first mistake results in a goal for the opposition, but that doesn’t seem to happen in the Champions League. We’re paying for every little mistake,” he said.
Conceding his side are now in the thick of a relegation battle, Ranieri added: “There are a lot of teams involved, and we’re one of those teams, but with a couple of wins, you soon move up the table.
“We must continue to work hard and believe in ourselves and retain the right balance.
“In football, there are good moments and there are bad moments, and in the bad moments we must stay together and react strongly.”