Drives Danny
matches I watched in the pub, so it was a nice atmosphere.”
Hodgson quit after the debacle and a fresh start now beckons. Not only with England and Sam Allardyce, but in many respects with champions Leicester, whose exalted status means scrutiny falls on Claudio Ranieri’s side like never before.
There are standards to uphold as well as a Champions League campaign to negotiate – and all without N’Golo Kante, whose defection to Chelsea places extra emphasis on Drinkwater to drill the midfield.
During the club’s pre-season camp in Los Angeles, the genial Ranieri erupted after one sloppy training session too many, openly questioning whether success had satisfied his players’ hunger and sapped their spirit. It was akin to pressing the reset button.
“I think he would have needed to do that at some stage,” said Drinkwater, who recently signed a new five-year contract. “After such a successful season, if the lads lack a bit of concentration, just accepting what we did and not knuckling down for this season, then the earlier he did that, the better.
“Personally, I didn’t think I had. In LA, it was hard. The weather was extremely hot and some sessions might have been a bit sloppy. But that’s why he’s the manager and did what he did. He can be as angry as he wants, I will still like him. He is like a granddad figure.”
So it was not quite the ‘hairdryer’ which he grew up in fear of at Manchester United?
“No, I was young when Fergie would have been mad at me so it terrified me,” said Drinkwater. “I have matured a lot now so it is a bit different. When the manager gets angry you accept it and learn from it.”
It is Allardyce that Drinkwater must now impress in the hope he can feature alongside Eric Dier in England’s starting line-up for their opening World Cup qualifier with Slovakia on Sunday. The Spurs midfielder was namechecked by the new England boss as being central to his plans and Drinkwater accepts competition is fierce.
“It is not going to be easy, I know that,” he said. “They have some extremely good midfield players, so if I need to I will just bide my time.”
But while the challenge for Drinkwater is about hard work and re-establishing his credentials, the legacy of what Leicester achieved continues to have some spin-offs.
The Hollywood film on Jamie Vardy’s remarkable rise remains in the pipeline with close friend Drinkwater sure to feature in the storyline.
“I hope he has not got me a rubbish actor,” added Drinkwater. “I’m sure the film will be good. Jason Statham is English. He is a good actor and his missus is a ‘worldie’ as well, so I’ll take him.”