KEEP WINNING, URGES VARDY
COLLECTION OF TROPHIES
LIFTING more trophies is the target for Leicester City and Jamie Vardy in the upcoming season – starting with the Community Shield, writes Jordan Blackwell.
City added the FA Cup to their cabinet of silverware last month, an historic day at Wembley that will live long in the memory.
And while Vardy now has the two major domestic titles to his name, his hunger for glory has not diminished.
The 34-year-old striker is backing his team-mates to quickly recover from another top-four near-miss and show their desire for success from the first game, when they take on Manchester City in the Community Shield at Wembley on August 7.
“You want to keep winning as many trophies as we can,” Vardy said.
“We’ve got the FA Cup that we’d not had previously. We also know that on the seventh of August, there’s another trophy that’s up for grabs.
“We’ll be doing our utmost to carry on winning, carry on progressing, and hopefully that brings more trophies.”
On falling short of a top-four spot last season, Vardy added: “It’s like anything, there’s bound to be disappointment.
“The main thing is, it’s a long season, we didn’t just drop out because of that last game.
“We lost games during the season that were as vitally important as that last game.
“Overall for the full 38 games, we weren’t good enough to get into that top four.
“That’s what I mean about the progression, we’ll come back in pre-season, we know where we want to be and it’s about making sure we get in there.
“(Brendan Rodgers) has been brilliant to everybody. It’s a process he wants to do.
“He wanted to keep progressing and that’s not going to change for next year. It’s about trying to progress again.
“We’ve managed to qualify for Europe again, that’s two consecutive seasons now, which wasn’t happening before.
“We’ll see what the targets are when we come back for pre-season and look where we want to be.”
Helping City compete on five fronts – with the Premier League, Europa League, League Cup and FA Cup to follow the Community Shield – will be a handful of new signings, very likely including box-to-box midfielder Boubakary Soumare and striker Patson Daka.
Doing his best sales pitch, Vardy says there are plenty of reasons for prospective signings to choose City, not least their training ground at Seagrave, which he believes ranks as potentially the best in Europe.
City will have their first full campaign in their £100 million facility this coming season and it’s part of the full package the club can offer.
“I think it will be important but it’s just one little piece,” the number nine added on the influence of the training ground on transfers.
“You’ve got the successive European qualifications, and the way people are seeing us from the outside, the way we want to play and the results we’re picking up, it’s all going to be an attraction for new players.
“The new training ground is also perfect for developing the lads that are already here.
“I don’t think you’ll get a better training facility in the country, and maybe not in Europe.
“It’s all been put in motion. It’s what Khun Vichai wanted and Top has made sure it’s been finished to the standard they want.
“That’s the progression the club wants, it’s off the pitch as well as on it.”
STRIKER STILL KEEN TO ADD TO HIS