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HOTSHOT Jamie Vardy is havin’ a party again as Leicester home in on a surprise top 10 finish.
Six weeks ago, the floundering Foxes were in the relegation zone and facing the indignity of going down as defending champions.
Vardy could not buy a goal and Leicester were in the throes of the most spectacular collapse in Premier League history.
Suddenly all is sunny again and it’s largely on the back of the England hitman rediscovering his deadly goal touch.
Vardy has bagged six goals in his last seven outings, more than he had managed all season up to then.
Bang
Vardy also got one for England against Lithuania to underline that he is back with a bang.
Five straight league wins have rocketed Leicester up the table and they are in 11th, a point behind Southampton and Watford just ahead of them.
Vardy’s wife Rebekah is putting her husband’s return to form down to the new full-sized pitch he has had laid in their garden.
Team-mate Danny Simpson says he is not in the least bit surprised that Vardy is running riot again.
The defender said: “Strikers go through it. I don’t know why some people panic because he is not going to score every game.
“He is still the same player, it had just not been happening. But in training nothing changes with him. He’s always the same. His attitude and his confidence never differ.
“He still believes in himself. He’s got six in seven games now and he got one for England, so keep going Jamie is all I’ve got to say.”
Leicester travel to Everton tomorrow hoping to earn a seventh straight win to take them into next week’s Champions League quarter-final clash with Atletico Madrid in confident mood.
Their turnaround under new boss Craig Shakespeare is remarkable.
The sacking of title-winning boss Claudio Ranieri in February now looks like a decision that had to be taken.
“That is football for you,” said Simpson.
“In this league if you put wins together, especially if you have two games in four days, and you get six points in quick succession, you can really push up the table.
“We are showing really good form right now – clean sheets and scoring goals. It is looking good at the moment.”
It’s the kind of form that gives Leicester cause for optimism that they can get a good result in Spain and take Atletico back to the King Power for the second leg with a chance of clinching a place in the last four. But Simpson says there is business to be done before discussing that clash. “I know that game is coming up but we still have a job to do on Sunday before we can fully think about that,” he said. “We want to keep this run going. Things are good at home but we still want to carry it on away from home. “I don’t think we have picked up too many points away from our place. “I know we did at West Ham but Everton will be a tough place to go away and play at.
Wonder
“I think we have a decent record at their place in recent years. Hopefully we can carry that on.”
Simpson has been playing his part up at the attacking end of the pitch with two assists for Vardy and Wilfred Ndidi in the 2-0 win against Stoke last week.
He laid off the ball for Ndidi’s wonder strike then sent over an inch-perfect cross which Vardy volleyed home for the second.
“I am trying,” he added. “I love defending and keeping clean sheets but it was nice to get a couple of assists.
“Sometimes I just leave Riyad Mahrez to all that kind of stuff because he is that good.
“I want to keep clean sheets, that is my job. But it was nice to get a couple and I would like to get a few more.”