New managers under more pressure, says Ranieri
LEICESTER: Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri is not losing sleep over his team’s Premier League title defence and believes the pressure to succeed is more on the new managers of the big-name clubs.
Under Ranieri, 5000-1 outsiders Leicester won their first ever top flight title last season, with Manchester United and Chelsea failing to secure Champions League qualification and Manchester City only just making the top four.
The 2016-17 season will see some of the most prized managers with Jose Mourinho guiding Manchester United, Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and Antonio Conte in charge of Chelsea.
“You imagine the big teams who didn’t win, who didn’t make the Champions League. They are going crazy now, they want to kill now. Not just us, but all the other teams,” Ranieri told British media.
“They have new managers, fantastic managers. Antonio Conte is fantastic; Jose, everybody knows Jose. Pep Guardiola is an amazing person, good manager. I’m laughing because at the end only one will win. And the pressure is not on me, it’s on them.”
“Leicester City? People are just curious. What will happen with Leicester? What can Leicester do next season? Repeat? “To win is a dream.” Leicester begin their title defence at Hull on Aug 13.
Meanwhile, Leicester’s record signing Ahmed Musa admits the best decision he ever made was giving up goalkeeping to become a striker so feared that he is looking to make an immediate impact on the Premier League.
The 23-year-old Nigeria international moved to the King Power Stadium for £16.5 million from CSKA Moscow earlier this month and, having given up his goalkeeping ambitions as a schoolboy because of his diminutive stature, the 5ft 7in tall forward has no worries about coping with the physical challenge of the English top flight.
Musa became a striker while still at school when he decided to hang up his goalkeeping gloves.
He believes it was a decision that made his career, which has now taken him to England as a short-term understudy and potential longer-term replacement for England striker Jamie Vardy, who is six years his senior.
But Musa believes the pair could also operate in tandem.
“I was a goalie between 10 and 12,” he revealed.
“But changing was the best decision of my life because I would never have been good enough to become a professional goalkeeper.
“It was difficult at first but then you get used to the fact you are not very big. A lot of people used to tell me ‘Musa, you are too small to be a striker.’
“But I said: ‘It doesn’t matter what size you are, it’s what you can do that matters’.
“I think I am like Jamie Vardy. I have speed, I like to work hard, we are similar in lots of things.
“Am I faster? I can’t say yet, I have never played with him. But I am looking forward to finding out!
“I’m looking forward to playing with Vardy. I like his style. I think we can fit well together.”